Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pesto

Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pesto

Who says you shouldn't use an oven in the summer?  I never knew how easy (and delicious!) it is to make homemade pizza until I tried this one.  The creamy pesto is homemade and the marinated artichoke hearts give the pizza a little bite.  Plus, you really can't beat the flavor of roasted garlic.  Actually, you really can't beat any of the flavors on this pizza!

Ingredients

1 pound fresh store bought pizza dough

1/3 cup pesto  (store bought is fine but my recipe is below)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 large tomato

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup marinated and quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Pour a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in pizza pan or baking sheet.  Using your fingers, press the pizza dough out into the shape you want your pizza to be.  Roundness is overrated, an irregularly shaped pizza can be more interesting!  Once the dough is shaped,  pour the pesto on the dough and use the back of a ladle or spoon to spread it around the dough leaving about a 1/2 inch crust.  Then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pesto. 

Slice the large tomato into about 1/4 inch slices and arrange them on top of the mozzarella cheese.  Thinly slice each clove of garlic and sprinkle the slices over the dough.  Do the same with the marinated and quartered artichoke hearts.

Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly.  A little drizzle of balsamic vinegar is the perfect ending for this pizza!  Enjoy!

My Homemade Pesto

20 leaves fresh basil

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

In a small dry pan, place walnuts and toast over medium heat until fragrant; about 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Place all ingredients including the walnuts in a food processor and purée until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy!