Pizza Margherita

Three toppings on a napoletana base, with the basil tucked under the cheese.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (fior di latte).

Ingredients

• 4 pizza bases, made as for pizza napoletana
• 400 g San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, raw
• 300 g fior di latte, torn and drained 2 hours
• a large bunch of basil
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Make and prove the base as for pizza napoletana — 24 hours cold, opened by hand, never rolled.
2. DRAIN THE TORN MOZZARELLA TWO HOURS, on a rack over a bowl. Fior di latte is wetter than it looks and buffalo mozzarella wetter still; whichever you use, the choice is really a choice about how much water lands on your base.
3. Crush the tomatoes by hand and salt them. Raw, uncooked, no herbs in them.
4. Spread the tomato thinly from the centre out, leaving the rim bare.
5. TUCK THE BASIL LEAVES UNDER THE CHEESE, not on top. Baked at 450C for 90 seconds, a leaf sitting on the surface is black ash; under the mozzarella it steams and stays green.
6. Lay the drained cheese on in gaps rather than a solid layer, so the tomato shows between and the surface is not a lake.
7. Thread oil over and bake as hot as you can, 60 to 90 seconds. Add a fresh raw leaf as it comes out if you want one visible.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes