Pure Margherita Sauce Recipes

PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Fill a small bowl with hot tap water. Let the bowl sit 2 minutes, then dump the water. In the warmed bowl, combine the yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, the sugar and 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F). Let stand about 5 minutes. (The mixture will be creamy and slightly bubbly; if it isn't, start over with fresh new yeast.)
• In a large bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups flour and 2 teaspoons salt. Make a well in the center and stir in the yeast mixture, olive oil and 3/4 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F) with a wooden spoon. Mix until the dough starts to come away from the side of the bowl (it will be sticky). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead with floured hands until soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into a ball.
• Brush another large bowl with olive oil. Add the dough and roll to coat with the oil. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, put a pizza stone on the lowest oven rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. Let the stone preheat, about 1 hour.
• Make the sauce: Combine the olive oil, oregano, minced basil, tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to low and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan and cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and cut in half. Form each half into a disk and roll out into a 10-inch circle with a lightly floured rolling pin. (I like my pizza paper-thin!) Pinch around the edge to form a crust.
• Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal and carefully slide one round of dough onto the peel. Jerk the peel in a back-and-forth motion once or twice to make sure the dough does not stick. (If the dough is sticking, add extra cornmeal.) Drizzle the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and top with half of the sauce, leaving a small border.
• Transfer the dough to the hot stone in the oven, using a jerking motion to slide the dough off the peel. Bake 5 minutes. Using the peel, rotate the pizza for even browning and top with half of the mozzarella. Bake until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven using the peel, transfer to a cutting board and scatter half of the basil on top. Repeat to make the second pizza.

AUTHENTIC PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Stir flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Set aside.
• Mix water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Stir half the flour mixture into yeast mixture until no dry spots remain. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When dough pulls together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide into 4 equal pieces, and form each into a ball.
• Preheat oven with a pizza stone to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stretch out and pat 1 dough ball to form a circle 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Place dough on a lightly floured pizza peel. Top with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and spread to cover within an inch of the edge of the dough. Arrange 5 slices of mozzarella cheese on top of the tomato sauce, then place 5 basil leaves on top. Drizzle pizza with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Repeat for 3 remaining dough balls.
• Slide each pizza onto the pizza stone in the preheated oven. Bake until cheese is bubbly and the underside of the crust is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

THE PERFECT MARGARITA

Steps:

• Moisten the rim of a glass with a lime wedge. Sprinkle salt onto a plate. Lightly dip the moistened rim into the salt. Place a large ice cube in the glass and freeze the prepared glass until ready to serve.
• Fill a cocktail shaker with fresh ice. Add tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Cover and shake vigorously until outside of the shaker has frosted. Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with a slice of lime.

PIZZA MARGHERITA

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Stir together yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl and let stand until surface appears creamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't appear creamy, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Add 1 1/4 cups flour, remaining 1/2 cup water, salt, and oil and stir until smooth. Stir in enough flour (1/4 to 1/3 cup) for dough to begin to pull away from side of bowl. (Dough will be slightly wet.)
• Knead on a floured surface, lightly reflouring when dough becomes too sticky, until smooth, soft, and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into a ball, put in a bowl, and dust with flour. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.
• Make tomato sauce while dough rises:
• Pulse tomatoes with juice in a blender briefly to make a chunky purée.
• Cook garlic in oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until fragrant and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add tomato purée, basil, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and cool.
• Heat pizza stone while dough rises:
• At least 45 minutes before baking pizza, put stone on oven rack in lower third of electric oven (or on floor of gas oven) and preheat oven to 500°F.
• Shape dough:
• Do not punch down. Dust dough with flour, then transfer to a parchment-lined pizza peel or large baking sheet. Pat out dough evenly with your fingers and stretch into a 14-inch round, reflouring fingers if necessary.
• Assemble pizza:
• Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1-inch border (there may be some sauce left over). Arrange cheese on top, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border.
• Slide pizza on parchment onto pizza stone. Bake until dough is crisp and browned and cheese is golden and bubbling in spots, 13 to 16 minutes. Using peel or baking sheet, transfer pizza to a cutting board. Cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle with some basil leaves before slicing.

PURE MARGHERITA SAUCE

Steps:

• Place a bit of Olive Oil into a medium sized heavy stock pan and bring to medium heat. Add the onions and carrots. Sweat for a few minutes until soft. Add canned tomatoes and garlic and season. Reduce the heat to medium low and let cook, covered, for "a while".
• Sometimes, I will get cheap and use 1 can of San Marzanos and 1 can of inexpensive tomatoes. Or, if I have fresh tomatoes that need to be used - I make sauce rather than ruining them in the refrigerator. This is all OK too. San Marzano is best -- but the other options will still give you a far better product than store bought sauce.
• Basically I check it every 10 minutes or so. If my heat seems too high (too bubbley & starting to burn), I'll reduce it to very low. Once the mixture is very soft (at least 30 minutes or up to 60), puree with an immersion blender. I don't use a regular blender, because I don't want it to be perfectly velvet smooth, but use any tool that you prefer.
• After pureed, test for seasoning and add more if needed. Continue cooking, covered on low heat for 15-30 minutes until thickened.
• This is simply the most perfect clean and pure pizza sauce you will ever eat! If you are accustomed to store varieties, It tastes VERY different but it is SO much better! The color should be a bright orange-red -- with a little bit of tart and a little bit of natural sweet. Whatever you do -- NEVER EVER EVER ruin your sauce by adding any kind of additional sweetener - that's my opinionated part :).
• When you turn off the heat, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil for additional kick. This sauce can be refrigerated or frozen, but it is best when used immediately.