Balsamic Vinegar Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes

By the time I remembered to take a picture of it, this was all that was left. Oops!

More ingredients does not necessarily mean more flavor. Sometimes, less is more! Putting too many ingredients into a dish can overwhelm your taste buds so that the flavor of each ingredient can get lost in a hodge podge of spices. Stop making your taste buds work so hard!! This pizza will absolutely knock your socks off with flavor!

Warning: If you are not a fan of balsamic vinegar, don’t try this recipe! It has a moderate to strong balsamic vinegar flavor to it.

 

 

 

 

 

Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes in Balsamic Vinegar
(I got this recipe from my friend, Jason, whose genius ceases to astound me.)
Ingredients:

 

4 Tbs Olive Oil
6 Cloves of Minced Garlic
5 Leaves of Chopped Basil
Chili Pepper Flakes to taste
28 oz. Can of San Marzano Pureed Tomatoes    

1 Basket of Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)
1 Shallot (chopped)
1 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper 16 oz. Shredded Premium Quality Mozzarella Cheese
Handful of Arugula to sprinkle on top of the pizza (optional)
2 Bags of Pizza Dough from Trader Joe’s (enough to make 2 pizzas)
Corn Meal (to keep dough from sticking) **For best results it’s recommended that you get a pizza stone and a pizza peel, but a metal pizza pan will work.

Place Pizza Stone in Oven and preheat to 500 degrees for about an hour (or a minimum of 20 minutes if you’re in a rush).

In a small bowl combine cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, shallots, salt and pepper, and set it aside.

In a saucepan, heat olive oil and then add garlic and basil and the pureed tomatoes. Bring to boil and let it simmer while you prepare the dough. If you prefer a little kick to your pizza, add a little bit of chili flakes to your sauce.

On a floured surface roll the pizza dough or stretch with your hands to make a circular pizza shape. This part was particularly challenging for myself. Embarrassingly, this part took the longest out of the entire recipe. (I think I was in the kitchen fighting the pizza dough for about 20 minutes.) This pizza taste better when the crust is on the thinner side.

Sprinkle the cornmeal on your work area and set dough on top to coat the bottom of the pizza dough. Place the pizza dough on the pizza peel and spread a moderate layer of pizza sauce, followed by mozzarella cheese. Slide the pizza from the pizza peel onto the pizza stone and bake for no more than 10 minutes. Be sure to keep a close eye on the pizza as ovens vary.

Once you remove the pizza from the oven, immediately sprinkle some of your cherry tomatoes on top of the hot cheese. Be sure to drizzle some of the balsamic vinegar on top as well. Serve while hot.

© 2009 Jennifer Fawn and I Love Recipes.