Olive Pizza with California Sun Dried Tomato Pizza Sauce
Overview
This should be called Olive LOVER'S Pizza. If you've cooked whole Mediterranean olives before, in pasta sauce...or maybe you've had my old boss/friend Jack's Chicken OO or OOA ("Uh Oh" = olives and onions, and anchovies for the braver souls)...the olives acquire a milder flavor and they soften up to the point where they melt in your mouth. That's what this pizza is all about. If you want to get playful, you can turn this into a Pizza Puttanesca by adding to the olives: capers, anchovies, garlic, onion and chile flakes The sun dried tomatoes are also part of this theme...strong, deep, rich flavors that actually remind me of street food. This pizza, however you make it happen, will remind you of the back alleys of Napoli, the birthplace of pizza.
Ingredients
- 7 oz pizza dough, rolled out very thin
- 1 ½ - 2 oz Bella Sun Luci California Style Pizza Sauce
- 1 oz fresh mozzarella (preferably the kind in water, water drained, the cheese gently squeezed of excess water)
- 3 pitted whole Kalamata olives
- 3 pitted jumbo Sicilian olives, cut into large pieces
- ¼ - ½ cup tomatoes…any mixture of (seasoned with salt to taste): Bella Sun Luci sun dried tomatoes in olive oil with Italian herbs, julienne cut…roasted golden and red cherry tomatoes…sliced Roma tomatoes
- Several fresh basil leaves and florets, half for baking onto the pizza and half for garnish
- *The olives, when baked, have a slightly milder and ‘cleaner’ flavor and softer, more luscious texture.
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 450.
- Roll out your dough, place it on a very lightly flowered pan (optional: line the pan with parchment paper) and top it with the pizza sauce, leaving room on the outside rim for a crust.
- Chop the mozzarella, or break it with your hands and place it, the olives, the tomatoes and half of the basil randomly all over.
- Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes, or until the crust is cooked and browning
- Garnish with the remaining basil.
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