Deep South Eats: Tomato Basil Pizza

I obviously have a fondness for all things tomato basil as evidenced by past recipes of Tomato Basil Soup and Tomato Corn Salad (with fresh basil). This Tomato Basil Pizza tops the charts and is just absolutely amazing. It was one of those meals that I just could have devoured every last bite (had it not been waist line enhancing). The pesto instead of fresh basil adds so much flavor and saves you precious time.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole recipe of your favorite pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
• 1 jar of prepared pesto (if serving to company be aware that your pesto might contain pine nuts for those with allergies)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Fresh mozzarella
• Roma tomatoes - I used approximately 4 for the size of pizza I was making
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Press the pizza dough into a sheet pan (a pizza stone will work fine too). Lesson learned - use a large enough pan to allow for expansion. I used too small of a pan and had stuff spilling over into my oven.
• Smear the pesto over the crust leaving a one-inch border and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
• Slice the mozzarella thin and cover the pizza.
• Slice the Roma tomatoes thinly and lay evenly on top of the mozzarella.
• Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the entire pizza.
• Bake according to your crust of choice directions.

This pizza is super easy and so good. It serves nicely with a tossed garden salad.

Original recipe from The Pioneer Woman.