Our local pizza place has a “Margherita” specialty pizza that is to die for. The traditional margherita-style pizza uses fresh mozzarella, basil and tomato, so I’m not sure why they chose to name theirs Margherita. Especially because every time I order it, they have to verify what kind of pizza I’m meaning to order. Anyway, this one is my favorite, whatever you want to call it. Because of the white ingredients, I’m going with Bianca. A true bianca would not have red sauce, but this is the way my family likes it.
The season of lent is upon us and I love my friday pizza pick-ups, but honestly I prefer homemade pizza and find that it’s worth the extra effort to make it at home and save a few calories and several dollars. I’m not going to say that this is the healthiest recipe in the world, but I do use lower-fat ingredients to cut down on the grease and I don’t think the taste suffers at all. But by all means, if you prefer the full fat ingredients, then go ahead and use those instead.
Ingredients*
For each pizza, you’ll need:
Pizza dough
2 cups part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1.5 cups tomato sauce, my favorite is Barilla (optional)
1 cup raw broccoli, chopped
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Start by making the basic pizza dough recipe. This was my original pizza dough, but these days I prefer this recipe. (you can also use a store-bought version, but pizza dough making really is so easy!). This time I didn’t pre-bake the dough before adding my toppings. Split the dough in half and roll onto a jelly-roll pan or baking sheet, lightly dusting with flour to prevent sticking.
Top raw dough lightly with sauce, then mozzarella, leaving spaces to fill in later with broccoli and ricotta. Don’t forget to sprinkle the garlic.
Place pan on the oven’s middle rack an bake until done, about 12 minutes.
*These are estimated amounts, use what you like.
Yummers! I need to get this pizza into my belly SOON!
That’ my kind of pizza – thanks!