Recipe: Margherita Pizza

Margherita Pizza

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. plum Roma tomatoes (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 12" uncooked dough crust
6 oz. freshly sliced mozzarella cheese
8 fresh basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil


Preheat oven to 500 degrees (F). Combine 2 tbsp. olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and salt in bowl; let sit while preparing the dough. Brush dough crust lightly with olive oil. Top with cheese and then add the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake pizza stone for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven and top with basil. Allow to cool for 2−3 minutes before cutting. Cut and serve.

*Johnna's tip: Idle time allows us to play around a bit. After attending the soft opening of the soon-to-be the new District hot spot, Recess, recovery was in order. Recovery for us equals greasy and cheesy hence we thought it was time to make our way over to RedRocks for one of their brick oven pizzas. Good idea. Since our stomach was not in the mood for anything off the beaten path, we decided it would be best to keep it simple and the simplest way to go in pizza world is the Margherita.

At first we were disappointed to find only a little bit of buffalo mozzarella on top of the crispy dough, in the end we realized they saved us from stomach problems that arise from too much cheese (*We say more cheese is better! Well not for our health, but...) Tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil, olive oil and sea salt made us happy for the price of $10.95 and alongside a glass of simple Cabernet we were in recovery bliss (*We know, we know we were supposed to be recovering from the alcohol and we go and order some red wine?? To this, we honestly do not have a reply...) Try this recipe at home with some buffalo mozzarella, the taste adds a needed twist to the Margherita.