Pizza with Tomato-Basil Pesto, Peppers and Ricotta
October 8, 2020 • Cooking for One (or Two), Pasta & Pizza
Remember that Oven Dried Tomato and Basil Pesto I made recently? I had about half of it left so I decided to try it as a sauce base for homemade pizza. Boy, was that a good idea! I also opted to use up some leftover ricotta I had on hand and some roasted sweet peppers I found in the freezer, but you can really use whatever toppings you like in addition to the pesto base.
Pizza with Tomato-Basil Pesto, Peppers and Ricotta
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This recipe makes enough dough for two pizzas, so use your imagination for the toppings for the second one!
Author: Cooking with Michele
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup tomato-basil pesto
- 1 cup chopped roasted sweet peppers
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Combine the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit until the yeast starts to get a bit foamy, about 3 minutes. Add the oil and salt and flour, and mix with the dough hook on low until combined, then turn up the speed to medium and knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes.
- Shape dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until puffy, about an hour.
- Divide dough into two pieces, and shape loosely into a circle on the counter. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Continuing stretching the dough into a pizza shape to fit your pizza stone, and let stand, covered, to rise one more time. Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 450 degrees while the dough is rising.
- Generously coat a pizza peel or undimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Stretch the dough out to fit, then add toppings: pesto first, then peppers, ricotta, mozzarella, and finally basil leaves. Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone and bake until bubbly and the crust is browned, about 10-14 minutes. Remove with the pizza peel and let stand a couple of minutes before slicing.