Pizza Margherita
Tomato and Cheese Pizza
This is an absolute classic - and is very easy to prepare. It was reputed to have been created to honour Queen Margherita of Italy. In fact its colouring is rather Italian, the red of the tomatoes, the white of the mozzarella and the green of the basil echoing the colours of the Italian flag.
Makes 4 x 28cm (11 inch) pizzas
Basic Pizza Dough made with 600g (1 lb 5 oz) '00' flour Sauce Topping
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
12 ripe plum tomatoes, skinned and halved, or 1 x 800g (1 3/4 lb) can peeled plum tomatoes, chopped in the can, or polpa di pomodoro
Salt and pepper to taste
200g (7 oz) mozzarella cheese
12 fresh basil leaves
Make the basic dough as described, and leave it to rise. Then follow the instructions for Neapolitan Pizza, making a tomato sauce, until you come to the final topping. Preheat the oven to 230 C/ 450 F/ Gas 8. Grease the pizza pans or baking trays, and form the risen dough into four pizzas. Chop the mozzarella into small cubes, and scatter them over the dough which you have spread with the tomato sauce. Add the basil leaves, dribble 1 tbsp olive oil all over each pizza, and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes.
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