Tuesday Night Pizza

Sometimes a weeknight calls for a gourmet yet simple pizza.

Pizza on pizza stone fresh out of the oven, topped with fresh cilantro and thyme.

On a rainy Tuesday with defrosted dough in the fridge… what else is there to make but pizza? This recipe assumes that you have pizza dough and some equipment on hand, but if you don’t have that, you can get creative! If you don’t have any pizza dough, look up your favorite recipe or use some store bought and follow their directions. For tools, feel free to use whatever gets the pizza in the oven to cook. I hope this inspires you to make a weeknight dinner from found ingredients in the fridge some time. What do you like to have on your pizza?

Tools

• Pizza stone

• Cast iron skillet

• Knife and cutting boards

• Rolling pin

• Miscellaneous: pastry brush, tongs, dough cutter, rotary pizza cutter

Ingredients

• Pizza dough

• Flour, enough for dusting pizza dough

• Pesto, approximately 4-5 Tablespoons (You can also use seasoned tomato paste or sauce.)

• Two onions, sliced

• Olive oil, enough to coat pan

• Salt, to taste

• Vinegar (I used tarragon, but you can use balsamic or whatever else calls to you!)

• Herbes de Provence (optional, you can use another seasoning)

• Two rolls of mozzarella, sliced

• 10 or slices of salami, sliced

• Cilantro and thyme, minced (This is what I had in my fridge, but you can use whatever you like.)

Preparation

1. Let pizza dough rise, dust with flour and cover with a towel. (I defrosted some premade pizza dough. If you don’t have dough on hand, you can make some or get some at the store!)

2. Preheat oven with pizza stone on the middle rack at 500º F. (The pizza stone is not a requirement, but it makes the process easier and more delicious. Previously I used a cookie sheet with a sprinkling of cornmeal.)

3. Slice onions. Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add onions. Sauté until softened. Add vinegar and lower heat, then add seasonings.

4. Prepare pesto—I pulled mine out of the freezer and add grated parmesan—and slice fresh herbs for topping.

5. Slice mozzarella and salami to preference.

6. Roll out pizza dough and top with pesto, cheese, meat, onions, and more cheese.

7. Ideally, the pizza stone should preheat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. When ready, move pizza onto the stone (this is where I used the dough scraper).

8. Cook for 10 minutes.

9. Top with herbs and slice on pizza stone and serve. Enjoy!

Process Pictures

1. Onions prepped to caramelize

2. Seasonings: salt, tarragon vinegar, Herbes de Provence, and minced cilantro & thyme

3. Pizza dough, with pesto and wine in the background

4. Fresh mozzarella and salami, sliced and ready to go with herbs in the background

5. Fully caramelized onions seasoned with tarragon vinegar, Herbes de Provence, and salt

6. Pizza assembled with toppings: pesto, mozzarella, salami, onions, and more cheese

7. Final pizza topped with cilantro and thyme!