summer pizza

a while back michelle/nytesong from vanilla icing wrote about the joy of a good, simple pizza margherita. and i just knew it would be a perfect way to use our tomatoes from the garden. the thing is, we don't have that many, but we could probably have made a nice little salad now and then during the summer - if it wasn't for their sweet and tempting taste and color. see, the tomato plants are right next to the porch and the kids pass them all day long. and those pretty little red tomatoes (and sometimes the orange and the green ones as well), they are just too good to be true. so the kids eat them. and i think it's cute in a way, so my orders not to eat them are not so serious. and half hearted orders are immediately sensed by kids, and ignored.

once in a while i manage to get a little handful collected, but not a lot. and that's where the pizza margherita comes in. it doesn't really require that many tomatoes. and i would have had enough for the pizza topping photographed above, if it wasn't because the boys had found their way to the little handful i had collected that day too. so i had to add some big ones from the store. but since the recipe - and pizza in general - calls for oregano and basil, i at least can add all home grown spices.

this is a really yummy pizza, fresh and just full of summer. and in most families i would assume it's also a great family dinner. not here, though. here pizza is an adult thing. the kids don't like pizza. yes, you got that right. i must have done something wrong: my kids don't like pizza! but it's ok, cause this pizza has a perfect size for a late dinner for two.

you will find the recipe and nytesong's beautiful photos of the making of the topping right here. she even was so kind to share her own recipe for the pizza crust with me, since i never really managed to find one i liked. and this one is good. simple, easy, but oh, so perfectly crispy:

1 1/4 cups flour (italian flour, but all purpose flour will work just as well)
1.5 teaspoons yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
4-6 ounces warm water

• in a bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast.
• slowly mix in the water to form a shaggy ball of dough.
• knead by hand (or switch to dough hook) until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• shape it into a ball, and place in an oiled bowl.
• turn to coat and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.
• if you use a towel, make sure the top of the dough is well coated or else it will form a dry skin on top.

allow to rise in a warm place for about 3 hours. stretch dough into a 12 inch pizza, brush lightly with olive oil and top as desired. bake at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
UPDATE: that would be 500 degrees fahrenheit which is around 260 degress celcius. sorry for the confusion :)

and just as she explained me, the dough is very easy to use and shape.

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note: i am on vacation most of august and will not be posting or commenting as much as usual.