It seems that every recipe for pizza sauce uses canned tomatoes. I have nothing against quality canned tomatoes, I use them all the time. But I’m putting a lot of effort into tomorrow night’s pizza, and I’d really like that fresh tomato taste to accompany it. Maybe I should just skip the sauce and use sliced tomatoes and some fresh garlic (sliced) and basil, a la pizza Margarita? What say you, pizza gourmands?
Pizza sauce with fresh tomatoes
- Thread starter JustJoel
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buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
That's do-able. But most Margherita pizzas here still have a bit of sauce on them, plus the fresh toms, basil and fresh mozz.
Blind bake the dough with a brushing of garlic oil first, then add the fresh ingredients and finish baking, and yoy'll have what we call a "Grandma Pie".
Try it, you'll like it.
Blind bake the dough with a brushing of garlic oil first, then add the fresh ingredients and finish baking, and yoy'll have what we call a "Grandma Pie".
Try it, you'll like it.
I wouldn't use fresh tomatoes in December. It is the wrong time of year for good, fresh tomatoes.
I use Cento brand San Marzano (DOP certified) canned tomatoes for my sauces, unless I can get fresh tomatoes from my sister's garden. There are other brands, but the DOP certification means they are real San Marzano tomatoes, which IMO are the best.
I love Pizza Margherita (not Margarita, the drink), but when I had it in Napoli, Italy, the birthplace of the pizza, they used sauce, not sliced tomatoes. Again, December is not the right time to use fresh tomatoes in North America.
It is just like fresh vs frozen fruits and vegetables... when they are in season, I always go for fresh, but when they are six months out of season, frozen often taste better, because they were picked at the right time.
You can get fresh herbs all year long, so definitely use those. Good fresh Mozzarella is also available year around, and that is my preference on pizza. Just make sure you drain it well, so it doesn't make your crust wet.
Good luck, and don't get too stressed out over a pizza.
CD
I use Cento brand San Marzano (DOP certified) canned tomatoes for my sauces, unless I can get fresh tomatoes from my sister's garden. There are other brands, but the DOP certification means they are real San Marzano tomatoes, which IMO are the best.
I love Pizza Margherita (not Margarita, the drink), but when I had it in Napoli, Italy, the birthplace of the pizza, they used sauce, not sliced tomatoes. Again, December is not the right time to use fresh tomatoes in North America.
It is just like fresh vs frozen fruits and vegetables... when they are in season, I always go for fresh, but when they are six months out of season, frozen often taste better, because they were picked at the right time.
You can get fresh herbs all year long, so definitely use those. Good fresh Mozzarella is also available year around, and that is my preference on pizza. Just make sure you drain it well, so it doesn't make your crust wet.
Good luck, and don't get too stressed out over a pizza.
CD
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
My biggest challenge when I started making pizza was learning to eliminate/minimize watery ingredients. I accomplished that by using paper thin strips/slices of fresh vegetables and by using a thick paste based pizza sauce. The second challenge was learning to be slightly stingy when adding the various toppings.
I would use a thin base of pizza sauce and paper thin slices of fresh tomatoes as a decorative topping.
This is the basic sauce recipe that I use. I spread the thick sauce on the dough in a thin layer using the back of a serving spoon and then top the pizza with the remaining ingredients.
Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.
Good luck!
I would use a thin base of pizza sauce and paper thin slices of fresh tomatoes as a decorative topping.
This is the basic sauce recipe that I use. I spread the thick sauce on the dough in a thin layer using the back of a serving spoon and then top the pizza with the remaining ingredients.
Pizza Sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
¼ - ½ cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
1T dry Oregano
1T dry Basil
Mix well. If you use fresh basil omit the dried from the sauce and add the fresh basil as a pizza topping. This makes enough for 2 sheet pizzas. The leftovers can be frozen with good results.
Good luck!
Aunt Bea is right about watching your water content. If you use fresh tomatoes, let them sit on some paper towels for enough time to lose some water. Same with fresh Mozz, as I mentioned before.
Another way to elevate a pizza is to use soppressata instead of pepperoni as a toping. It has a much deeper flavor, IMO, but it costs a lot more, too. I think it is worth the extra money.
CD
Another way to elevate a pizza is to use soppressata instead of pepperoni as a toping. It has a much deeper flavor, IMO, but it costs a lot more, too. I think it is worth the extra money.
CD
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Soppressata definitely!! Even a good hard salami. Because they have been allowed to hang and dry out over a longer period of time, they have a definite deep flavor of their own. And they are dry enough that it would help absorb some of the liquids from the tomatoes. You might want to go for both. The hard salami is as a rule larger and will cover more of the top. It will help cut back on the cost. The Soppressata can be used as a surprise bite for the inner circle of spreading it around.
Because it is so expensive, every few months I will buy two sticks of Soppressata. One for me and one for Pirate. If I were to buy just one, we would end up stabbing each other for who is going to get the most.
