In this scrumptious pesto pizza In this scrumptious pesto pizza the crispy crust is topped with mozzarella, basil pesto sauce and crispy pine nuts. it's so fresh, flavorful and amazingly good.Recipe yields 2 large servings (approx 12-inch pizza)
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Resting time1 hourhr
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Pizza
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Pesto pizza
Servings: 4
Author: Katia
Ingredients
PIzza dough
1easy pizza dough(or your fav dough)
Pesto topping
1(140 gr/5oz)fresh mozzarella ball in water, diced (or ½ cup of shredded mozzarella)
¼cupbasil pesto sauce
½tablespoon pine nuts
⅛teaspoonfine salt
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Pizza dough
Follow the easy no-knead pizza recipe through step 5, including shaping the pizza and preheating the oven to 450°F/230°C.
Pesto topping
Shape the dough: When the dough is ready follow step 5, place the dough on a parchment paper sheet and starting from the center, gently press it out with your fingers until you get approx a 9×13 inch pizza. Then gently place the dough onto a pizza peel or onto the back of a rimmed baking sheet.
Add the topping: Dice the mozzarella and pat it dry using some kitchen towels to reduce the extra moisture. Spread the pesto sauce evenly, top with diced mozzarella, scatter a few pine nuts, sprinkle with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake the pizza: when the oven is hot, use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or hot baking sheet. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, approx 15 minutes. Each oven is different, keep an eye on it (e.g. in a forced fan oven it will take about 8 minutes).
Serve: allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before serving, but don't add extra olive oil (you'll have enough from the pesto sauce). Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
What should you use instead of a pizza stone? Each oven usually has a rimmed baking sheet or a large cookie sheet that you can invert it and place on the lowest shelf of your oven before you preheat it. When the baking sheet is right-side up, taking the pizza in and out of the stove will be easier, and the preheated baking sheet will make a nice and crisp pizza crust. Alternatively, stretch the pizza dough on a greased large baking sheet.How do you measure flour?I use both US cups and grams. The cups of flour are leveled, which means you have to fill the measuring cup to the top, letting the flour flow over a little. Then, use the back of a knife to level the top off. However, a digital scale is an excellent kitchen tool and gives a more correct weight. Pizza with pesto leftovers: cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator up to 1 day or freeze up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat in the oven the frozen pizza leftovers until nice and crispy.