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Step 7My Margherita
After baking pizzas for many years with different success, i'm finally happy with my Margherita.
Margherita is the Pizza in its purest form, so it's quite easy to enhance the main pizza ingredients. Crust, pizzaiolo sauce and the cheese.
When i started baking pizza, i cooked the tomatoes in the sauce very long, in order to evaporate.
Then, after i read Peter Reinhart's pizza book, i tried the tomatoes uncooked. I marinated the diced tomatoes with olive oil salt, herbs, spices and a dash of lemon juice.
This was already close to the "perfect pizza".
I used canned, skinned and diced San Marzano tomatoes in spring. Those tomatoes are picked ripe and canned immediately. These are better than fresh tomatoes, that are picked green in order to survive shipment. But if you have access to fresh ripe tomatoes, by all means use them.
I take a can of tomatoes and pour them into a strainer to collect the liquid in a bowl.
Onions and garlic are finely diced and lightly sauteed in olive oil. When the onions get glassy, i pour the liquid onto the onions. Then i add a little concentrated tomatoe puree and let it cook to evaporate half the liquid.
After switching off the heat, i add salt, pepper, oregano (or the herbs and spices of your choice) and a dash of lemon juice. When cooled a little bit, i add the diced tomatoes.
So much for the sauce.
The next thing is the cheese. Pure mozzarella is a pretty bland cheese, even the bufala.
In the supermarkets here, i can buy a grated pizza/gratin mix. It's mozzarella with some Greyerzer.
Lately i used this mix, together with some Taleggio cheese. This made it really, really tasty.
A pizza needs to be balanced. Meaning don't overload the toppings. I like a thin crust, so not too much toppings.
After baking, i add some fresh basil.
From this point, the sky is the limit....
Some commented pictures of our last pizza party.
Margherita is the Pizza in its purest form, so it's quite easy to enhance the main pizza ingredients. Crust, pizzaiolo sauce and the cheese.
When i started baking pizza, i cooked the tomatoes in the sauce very long, in order to evaporate.
Then, after i read Peter Reinhart's pizza book, i tried the tomatoes uncooked. I marinated the diced tomatoes with olive oil salt, herbs, spices and a dash of lemon juice.
This was already close to the "perfect pizza".
I used canned, skinned and diced San Marzano tomatoes in spring. Those tomatoes are picked ripe and canned immediately. These are better than fresh tomatoes, that are picked green in order to survive shipment. But if you have access to fresh ripe tomatoes, by all means use them.
I take a can of tomatoes and pour them into a strainer to collect the liquid in a bowl.
Onions and garlic are finely diced and lightly sauteed in olive oil. When the onions get glassy, i pour the liquid onto the onions. Then i add a little concentrated tomatoe puree and let it cook to evaporate half the liquid.
After switching off the heat, i add salt, pepper, oregano (or the herbs and spices of your choice) and a dash of lemon juice. When cooled a little bit, i add the diced tomatoes.
So much for the sauce.
The next thing is the cheese. Pure mozzarella is a pretty bland cheese, even the bufala.
In the supermarkets here, i can buy a grated pizza/gratin mix. It's mozzarella with some Greyerzer.
Lately i used this mix, together with some Taleggio cheese. This made it really, really tasty.
A pizza needs to be balanced. Meaning don't overload the toppings. I like a thin crust, so not too much toppings.
After baking, i add some fresh basil.
From this point, the sky is the limit....
Some commented pictures of our last pizza party.
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How can we befriend so I can be invited ?…
:)
Actually seeing all these feisty and yummy pictures in the middle of january makes me long for the summer to come and the nice parties we have on my backyard in Le Havre !!!…
We sometimes fire up the oven in January, so call me while in the vicinity...
The Ardennes are a wonderful country especially in the summer with their great dark forests. In fact I used to spend some vacations int the French Ardennes 30 km from Verdun !…
Be sure that if I happen to pass by your area I'll let you know simply to have a look at you oven.
Actually my fathers best friend was a famous Greek sculptor and he made hi a quick oven (Greek fashion, I guess) in about one morning using fire resistant brick and cement with a door made of a simple sheet of stainless steel sheet with a handle.
I know it took him so little time because I was there and helped him. It was back in 1969 or 1970 and it still worked flawlessly 10 years ago. The house was then sold and I can see it when peeking over the fence, but I don't know if the new owners use it.
I know I have some photos, I'll post them here. But please wait before I find them in my mess ! …
Have a good day.
When you dig your own loam/clay or get it from a construction site (this shiny grey or yellow stuff when they dig a foundation, about 1.5m below the topsoil), it would cost next to nothing.