It's easy to make your own traditional Sicilian pizza at home. The crust is thick and rectangular and is topped with tomato sauce, soft ricotta and basil pesto. It's great for a meatless Monday meal.
26 oz. pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
8 oz. tomato sauce (see below)
12 oz. shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
4 oz. soft ricotta (see below)
4 oz. basil pesto (see below)
Tomato Sauce:
1 ½ c. tomato sauce
1 t. salt
2 T. dried oregano
¾ t. black pepper
¾ t. fresh garlic
Soft Ricotta:
1 c. ricotta
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
¼ t. salt
pinch black pepper
Basil Pesto:
1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic
1 t. salt
2 c. basil leaves
½ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
pinch black pepper
1 ½ T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preheat oven to 500 degrees or the highest temperature the oven can be set to.
Coat an 11x17 inch rimmed baking sheet/pizza pan with 3 T. olive oil. Add the dough and stretch it to fit the baking sheet.
Tomato Sauce:
Combine all ingredients.
Soft Ricotta:
Mix together all ingredients.
Basil Pesto:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor; blend until smooth.
Assembly:
Spread cheese in an even layer on top of the dough. Add dollops of tomato sauce and then ricotta on top of cheese.
Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is golden brown, rotating after 8 minutes.
Remove pizza from oven. Immediately add dollops of pesto.
Slice and serve.