Sun Dried Tomato & Goat Cheese Pizza
I love making pizzas at home. With a few simple tricks, they are easy to make, and the choice of toppings are nearly endless, making it easy to catere to everyone’s tastes, and even the changing seasons. Here, I show you how to make a sun dried tomato and goat cheese pizza. The sun dried tomatoes are super dense in flavor and a bit sweet, and go perfectly with the goat cheese, with is dotted throughout the pizza and adds a creamy rich flavor and texture. Get the dough from a local pizza shop like I do, which saves you a ton of time, and is generally a great product. Enjoy!
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
To make the best sun dried tomato and goat cheese pizza, make sure to do the following:
- You can certainly make the dough if you like, but I prefer buying it from a local pizza shop. It’s a big time saver, and the quality is always high
- If you can use a pizza stone, or at least a heavy gauge pan, rather than a thin metal sheet. It retains heat better, and well help get a nice crispy crust
- Stretch the dough nice and thin, or it can really over power the sauce and toppings, and taste more like a loaf of bread with toppings, rather than pizza.
- Use very high heat, a 500 degree oven8
- Finally, use some restraint with the sauce and toppings, otherwise, the pizza can get soggy and out of balance
- 1 medium pizza dough
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- ¼ cup julienned sun dried tomatoes
- ~3 oz goat cheese
- ~6 oz mozzarella cheese
- Flour to prevent dough sticking
- Polenta to help slide the dough
- Pre-heat your oven, with the pizza stone inside at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes
- Dust a cutting board or pizza peel with dry polenta, which will help the pizza slide off into the pre-heated pizza stone. Sliding is actually the hardest part, so don’t skimp on the polenta – they act like little ball bearings
- Allow the dough to come up to room temperature and then hand stretch until very thin (about 1/8 inch)
- Lay the pizza dough down on the board and coat with a thin layer of pizza sauce
- Spread the mozzarella over the pizza, and then top with the tomatoes and goat cheese
- Slide the pizza onto the pre-heated pizza stone, and allow it to cook for 8 – 12 minutes until the cheese is melted, and the crust crispy
- Remove the pizza from the stove, and allow it to rest for 2- 3 minutes to cool
- Serve and enjoy!
I love to serve a Sangiovese, or Chianti, with pizza. There is a natural affinity between tomato and the sangio grape that can’t be beat, and it will make a perfect paring with this pizza.
Comments (11 )