Crushed Tomato Pizza with Shaved Fennel & Sweet Pepps
There’s nothing quite like fresh-crushed mini tomatoes in the place of sauce on your mid-summer homemade veggie pizza. Top it with some mandolin-shaved fennel and sweet peppers, Asiago cheese, ricotta, and basil and you’ve got yourself a delicious flavor escape to Italy.
Crazy-good vegetarian homemade pizza with crushed tomatoes, shaved fennel and sweet peppers, and glumps of fresh ricotta.
- 2 dry pints (3-4 c.) mini grape, cherry, or heirloom tomatoes, halved
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
- 24-28 oz. prepared room-temperature pizza dough, unbaked (see TIP A below)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1/2 c. grated or shredded aged Asiago cheese (aged Asiago is typically harder than young Asiago)
- 1 medium fennel bulb (core and outer layer removed), cut or shaved into very thin slices (consider using a mandoline)
- 1 medium sweet bell pepper (or 4-5 mini peppers), cut or shaved into very thin slices (consider using a mandoline)
- 12-16 fresh basil leaves
- 4-6 oz. good quality, fresh ricotta cheese
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
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Combine the tomatoes, minced or grated garlic, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (reserve remaining) in a large bowl. With clean hands, squeeze and crush the tomatoes, garlic, and salt together until soft and pulpy (some large chunks are good!). You may also do this in a food processor by briefly pulsing the mixture 10-15 times. Set aside until ready to use.
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Sprinkle the flour over your work surface and on top of the room-temperature pizza dough (room temperture dough stretches far more easily than cold dough). Divide the dough into 2 even mounds and stretch each mound into a very thin 12+ inch circle using your hands or a rolling pin (the dough will shrink slightly in the oven so err on the side of larger, thinner). Transfer each stretched circle to their own lightly greased baking sheet and gently prick the dough all over with a fork.
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Put the dough circles (untopped) in a pre-heated 450-500° oven for 6-8 minutes. You want them to begin to set-up and develop a hint of brown around the edges, but not fully brown or cook through. After 6-8 minutes, pull the partially baked crusts from the oven.
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Brush each crust with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Use a slotted spoon to distribute half of the crushed tomato mixture over each crust (leave most of the tomato juice behind and discard or store for future use—great for flavoring rice or pasta water). Then top with the Asiago cheese, shaved fennel and sweet peppers, and rounded spoonfuls of fresh ricotta (divide toppings evenly between the pizzas). Finally, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using) over top. Return the pizzas to the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the crusts turns firm and golden (rotate the pizzas between oven racks as needed). When done, remove the pizzas from the oven, top with fresh basil leaves, cut and enjoy!
TIP A: I've tried a lot of store-bought pizza dough varieties, and my hands-down favorite is Whole Foods Market® Neapolitan style. If you prefer whole-wheat, then give Trader Joe's® 100% Whole-Wheat dough a try. Both are incredibly tasty and great weeknight stand-ins. That said, nothing beats making it yourself according to Jim Lahey's No-Knead Pizza Dough. It's worth every bit of effort and yields a huge batch. Great if you're making multiple pizzas or flatbreads.