Heirloom-Tomato Pizza

(14)
heirloom tomato pizza
Photo: Marcus Nilsson
Yield:
1 12-inch pizza

Juicy heirloom tomatoes balance out the saltiness of the guanciale and Pecorino Pepato cheese atop this pizza.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup heirloom tomatoes (any combination of halved cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced medium tomatoes)

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 3 to 4 ounces Pecorino Pepato cheese, thinly sliced

  • 1 round Chris Bianco's Pizza Dough

  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Sicilian

  • 7 thin slices guanciale or pancetta

  • ¼ cup torn fresh basil

Directions

  1. Place a pizza stone on floor of gas oven (remove racks) or bottom rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to at least 500 degrees for 1 hour.

  2. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and oil; season with salt and pepper. Let stand 1 hour.

  3. Arrange cheese evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with tomatoes, oregano, and guanciale.

  4. Switch oven to broiler setting. Align edge of peel with edge of stone. Tilt peel, jerking it gently to move pizza. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back peel to transfer pizza to stone. (Do not move pizza.) Broil until bubbles begin to form in crust, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce temperature to 500 degrees; bake until crust is crisp and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes more. (If not using broiler, bake pizza 10 to 15 minutes total.) Remove pizza from oven using peel. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with basil. Slice and serve.

Cook's Notes

Pecorino Pepato is an Italian sheep's milk cheese with peppercorns. Any pecorino can be substituted.

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