Pizza Margherita by dianatangy

Source: http://www.acouplecooks.com/2010/10/pizza-margherita/

Ingredients

What You Need 1 pizza dough 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano if possible) – Note: 1 can will make enough sauce for at least 4 pizzas. 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp red wine vinegar (or more to taste) Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 3 cloves garlic Handful of mozzarella cheese (sliced fresh if you are feeling fancy, shredded if it’s a weeknight) Parmesan cheese Handful of fresh basil

Instructions

What You Do

1 Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. Follow the pizza dough recipe to make sure it is ready.

2 Prepare the tomato sauce by mixing a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, and 1 tsp red wine vinegar. Stir it up and add salt and pepper to taste. When it is ready to go, it should be just a little bit tart from the vinegar.

3 Mince the 3 cloves garlic.

4 When the oven is ready, either put the dough on a floured pizza peel (if you are so lucky), or pull the pizza stone out of the oven and carefully place the dough on it.

5 Quickly assemble the pizza. Spread the tomato sauce thinly over the dough (not too much!), sprinkle on the minced garlic and as much mozzarella cheese as you like, and top with some fresh grated parmesan and a pinch of salt. Also, I like to brush a little olive oil on the crust to help it brown.

6 Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned. This is about 5 to 7 minutes, but just keep an eye on it.

7 Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil on top (whole leaves or lightly torn). Enjoy quickly before the basil turns from a vivid green to a sad spinach color.