Fresh Pesto Pizza

Fresh Pesto Pizza

This pizza is really flavorful. It's intense flavor makes this pungent sauce more like a pesto, adding punch to any pizza!

Fresh Pesto Pizza Sauce:

2 T olive oil

3 onions

10 lbs tomatoes (I bought inexpensive overripe tomatoes at the farmers market)

1 clove garlic

1 T real salt

1/4 c fresh basil, or 2 T dried

2 tsp Hungarian paprika

1/4 c white cooking wine

1 T champagne vinegar

2 T brown sugar

1/2 tsp mild cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the crust:

1 c warm water

1 T yeast

1/2 tsp salt

2 T oil

2 c flour

Toppings:

2 c pizza sauce

8 oz mozzarella (in the picture I used 12oz and it was too much)

1/3 red onion

1 c cremini mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

3 oz dry wt (1/2 can) green olives, sliced

For the sauce:

Cook onions until they become translucent.

Take skin off the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then in ice water. It should slip right off (if it doesn't try boiling them longer).

Add all other ingredients and simmer for an hour, or until flavors meld.

For the Crust:

Preheat oven to 450. This is my mom's pizza crust recipe (thanks mom!) and she is so practical! You don't have to stir the water and yeast together and let them rise ahead of time, just mix all the crust ingredients together. Shape the crust and cook on a cookie sheet or pizza peel for 450 degrees for 8 minutes...then add the toppings. This prevents the pizza crust from becoming soggy when I drown it in sauce (its the best part, right?).

Vegetable medley:

Sautee onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper in a saucepan for 5 minutes. This makes it not so crunchy and also helps the crust not get too soggy since the vegetables let off steam when you sautee them.

Cover crust with sauce, vegetable mixture, and green olives. Top with mozzarella. Cook again at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.