Pizza Margherita

Tomatoes are still with us, joy of joys, and I was recently inspired by the bounty around me to make one of the world’s simplest and most delicious pizzas.

Pizza Margherita is about as basic as pizza can be—a crust topped with fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced fresh tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves. (One can use tomato sauce when fresh tomatoes are not in season, but the taste of the fresh tomatoes really comes through if you have them.)

This classic Neapolitan pizza was named after Margherita, the consort of Umberto I of Italy. Umberto was the second king of Italy, which was still gathering itself together in the 19th century. In 1889 she asked one of the premiere pizza makers in Naples to make her some pizza, then considered peasant food.

Margherita was delighted with the red, white, and green of this pizza, which reflected the colors of the Italian flag. It is still made in her honor at the Antiqua Pizzeria Brandi in Naples—and elsewhere.

I told my nephew Michael and his friend Carson about Queen Margherita, and they immediately grabbed red, white, and green ingredients to celebrate her pizza.

Pizza Margherita embodies the “less is more” philosophy that I frequently try to espouse when cooking (although I don’t always succeed). The fresh, high-quality toppings really shine here. At this season of the year it’s my favorite pizza.

Play with it a bit if you will—flavored oil would be nice—but don’t mess with its simplicity.

Ingredients:

1 pizza crust, store bought or homemade
olive oil as needed
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese to taste
2 to 3 medium-sized ripe yet firm tomatoes, sliced thinly
salt and pepper to taste
several basil leaves, torn

Instructions:

Bring the pizza dough to room temperature and preheat the oven as indicated in your dough instructions.

Roll and/or stretch the pizza dough out gently (this may take a few tries) so that it forms a 14-inch circle (or a rectangle to go onto a cookie sheet if you don’t have a pizza pan). Use a little flour to help with this if necessary.

Spray your pan lightly with cooking spray and oil it even more lightly. Place the dough on the pan. Spread a very thin film of olive oil on top.

Arrange the mozzarella pieces over the crust, and top them with the grated cheese. Arrange the tomato slices on top. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top, and drizzle a tad more olive oil over all.

Bake the pizza until the cheese is nicely melted and the bottom of the crust turns golden brown. With my crust (from Trader Joe’s) and my oven this took about 20 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven, and arrange the basil leaves on top of the tomatoes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Queen Margherita (Photo by Henri Le Lieure)

P.S. I would be remiss if I wrote about Pizza Margherita and forgot to mention my favorite place to eat it, the Green Emporium in Colrain, Massachusetts. It’s a bit far flung from Naples, but the ambiance and pizza can’t be beat. (The entertainment is pretty fabulous, too!)