For some reason odd reason, I love the smell of a tomato plant. Is it just me? I really can't tell you what it is about it, but I love that smell. Weird? I know.
So in the spring, I planted my tiny tomato plants in big pots and was hopeful that come August I would have more tomatoes than I would know what to do with. Well its September, and I've had 5 tomatoes. Five! I was so excited to have some success at growing tomatoes. That was until I went to my mom's house. Her plants have at least one hundred tomatoes and are massive....Guess I wasn't that successful.
I blame it on the lack of sun they had. Couldn't have been my forgetting to water them, then over watering them, then realizing the pots are really not that big....
Anyways, I took a bunch of tomatoes from my mom and decided to make pizza sauce with some of them. This sauce is very light, perfect for a Margherita pizza.
Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce
Makes enough sauce for a 12-16" pizza
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5-6 medium tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup or a 5.5 oz can tomato juice
Directions
Cut an X in the bottom of the tomatoes. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make sure there is enough water to cover the tomatoes. Once boiling, place tomatoes in water for 30 seconds, or until the skin begins to peel. Remove tomatoes and immediately place in ice water until cool (just a few minutes). Once cool, peel skins of tomatoes, chop and seed. Place tomatoes into bowl of a food processor and pulse until reaches desired consistency (some like their sauce more chunky, others like a smoother sauce). Set aside.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan and cook 1 minute stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Margherita Pizza
The perfect method for a crispy crust without a pizza stone. And a quick and easy pizza to show off your amazing homegrown tomatoes!
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 store bought pizza dough (our favorite is Trader Joe's)
1 cup pizza sauce (recipe above)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fresh mozzarella
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Grease a baking pan with vegetable or canola oil (this is the key to a crispy crust). Roll or stretch out pizza dough to a 12-16" circle on the pan. Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough. Arrange cheese slices evenly over the pizza. Bake at 550 degrees for 12-15 minutes until crust is crispy and golden brown. Cut pizza into 10 slice and sprinkle with basil.
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