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I can’t wait for this summer heat to be over! I don’t know about anyone else out there but I’m a total Winter bug, and I live for sweaters, gorgeous jackets and boots. Which is slightly ironic since I live in Southern California, and winter here is about 60 degrees on the coldest day and I think the rest of the country knows that we complain when it hits 60 degrees here. Sorry about that to all of you who deal with ACTUAL seasons.
Anywho now I’m making the most of my summer and eating all of these amazing fruits and veggies that summer produces! Heirloom tomatoes, peaches, strawberries and so many other fresh options that are perfectly delicious by themselves but even better incorporated into amazing summer dishes. That’s why I made this summer Heirloom tomato pesto pizza!Â
What I love about this pizza is that it’s 1. Easy to make and 2. So light and tasty. I can eat several slices without that bogged down feeling you always get from pizza delivery (or it is Digiorno?). I usually have a bit of a problem eating pizza in large quantities, but not this one!
One tip I have when making this pizza: make the pesto 1 day ahead. Pesto is MUCH better after the flavors meld together for at least a few hours so I would make this one day before and then use it for pizza the next day!
This tomato pesto pizza was made with pre-made pizza dough (I purchased mine from Whole Foods for about $6 and it was truly fantastic, I suggest that pre-made dough for anyone out there. The toppings are: olive oil (if you have flavored olive oils, lemon, garlic and basil are all excellent choices in lieu or regular olive oil), heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto. That’s it! Very easy and completely delectable.
Ingredients
Pesto
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large bunches basil or approx. 2 cups
- pinch salt
Pizza
- 1 large heirloom tomato sliced
- 1 cup small cherry or heirloom tomatoes sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz mozzarella sliced
- 2-3 tbsp fresh made pesto
Instructions
- Blend all basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and salt in food process or blender until well incorporated and finely chopped
- Add 1/4 cup olive oil and blend again until mixture is almost creamy. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- For the pizza: roll out pizza dough with a little flour to make sure it's pliable to form into pizza shape.
- Once the dough is thin enough and you have formed the pizza as you like place on a lightly oiled pizza stone.
- First rub on a little olive oil **but not too much** on the top of the pizza dough. Then top with sliced mozzarella followed by the tomatoes.
- Bake in preheated oven for approx 15 minutes for a personal pizza or 25-30 minutes for a large size pizza. Or just until the lip of the pizza is turning golden brown.
- Take out of oven and let cool slightly, then top with the pesto and enjoy!
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