Greenmarket in July Pizza
This pizza was inspired by the Union Square Greenmarket in NYC, where I found every kind of fruit and vegetable under the sun. The first time I saw the heirloom tomatoes, I had to have them all: the red, the purple, the red-purple, the orange, the yellow, and the little green ones that look like baby watermelons -- worth all 600 pennies.
You’ll Need:
2-3 large heirloom tomatoes
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
fresh oregano
whole grain pizza dough (or pre-made crust)
olive oil
salt + pepper
Here's How:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small to medium pan, heat ½ tbsp of olive oil to medium. Add the thinly sliced shallots and garlic to the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly so that they don’t burn to a bitter crisp. When they are soft and lightly browned, add a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar. Cook another minute, remove them from the pan and set them aside.
2-3 large heirloom tomatoes
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
fresh oregano
whole grain pizza dough (or pre-made crust)
olive oil
salt + pepper
Here's How:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small to medium pan, heat ½ tbsp of olive oil to medium. Add the thinly sliced shallots and garlic to the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly so that they don’t burn to a bitter crisp. When they are soft and lightly browned, add a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar. Cook another minute, remove them from the pan and set them aside.
3. Take a second to appreciate your beautiful, fresh tomatoes. Then use your sharpest knife to cut them into ¼-inch slices. Heirloom tomatoes are extremely irregular, so do your best to hold them steady while you slice them. I like to place them in the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking time, so they firm up. I slice them this way because they look spectacular on the pizza. You can also dice your tomatoes. Be gentle when removing the seeds. When you are done slicing and seeding, place a paper towel over the tomatoes to absorb the excess liquid.
4. If you are using a pre-made crust, skip to the next step. I picked up some whole wheat dough from Whole Foods: scatter a handful of flower on a large counter space. Place the dough on the counter and dash a little bit more flour over it. You’ll need a rolling pin – flour the rolling pin and begin working your way from the center of the dough to the edges. You may need to pick up the dough a few times and stretch it with your hands – be careful not to tear it. (The guy at Whole Foods gave me some tips on how to do roll out my dough!)
5. Place the dough on a baking sheet that’s been lightly greased with olive oil. Lightly drizzle olive oil on the edges to create a golden crust. Arrange the tomatoes on the crust, then scatter the cooked shallots over the tomatoes. Top it lightly with a handful of the parmesan cheese and about 1 tbsp of chopped fresh oregano.
6. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, or until the sides are golden and crispy. Remove it from the oven, and top it with more fresh parmesan cheese and fresh oregano. If you are using a pre-made crust, follow the baking instructions on the package.
6. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, or until the sides are golden and crispy. Remove it from the oven, and top it with more fresh parmesan cheese and fresh oregano. If you are using a pre-made crust, follow the baking instructions on the package.
Notes:
- You can make this pizza with regular, beefsteak or plum tomatoes. So long as they are ripe – tomatoes should be slightly soft, but still firm, and the brighter the red, the better!
- If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, just skip it.
- Shallots are a cross between onions and garlic, and are on the sweet side. If you can’t find shallots or don’t have them on hand, thinly sliced red onion will do. Use about ½ cup.
- If you can’t find fresh oregano, you can use fresh basil.
- You can make this pizza with regular, beefsteak or plum tomatoes. So long as they are ripe – tomatoes should be slightly soft, but still firm, and the brighter the red, the better!
- If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, just skip it.
- Shallots are a cross between onions and garlic, and are on the sweet side. If you can’t find shallots or don’t have them on hand, thinly sliced red onion will do. Use about ½ cup.
- If you can’t find fresh oregano, you can use fresh basil.
