Margherita Pizza

[Steve]

Who makes a Margherita Pizza? Do you use a red sauce? Garlic Sauce? Olive Oil?

Whole tomato slices or diced?

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[Gunner]

Here’s a variant:
Brush entire dough with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, spread a thin layer of Pesto Sauce (easier said than done) leaving a little crust, add usual amount of grated Mozzarella, cut Roma Tomatoes about 1/4” thick and place sparingly on top of cheese, then sprinkle some Ground Basil on top when you pull it out of the oven.

 

[December]

A friend of mine makes a Margherita that is phenomenal.
He used Caputo ovoline fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, and fresh basil put on after the pizza came out of the oven.
I tried duplicating it countless times, never could get it right. I got discouraged realizing I had to bring in highly perishable items for what was basically a fancy cheese pizza. So It just never became a permanent item on my menu.

I gave the Margherita one last chance a few months ago, making what I believed to be our best version.
We used light pizza sauce, basil pesto(no nuts), fresh mozzarella, romano, and a thin spiral of balsamic glaze post bake it was fantastic. Thought it was going to take off but it didn’t.

 

[famousperry]

My Margherita is my profile pic…we use our Marinara instead of pizza sauce as the base and top with Fresh Mozzarella, Alta Cucina (Stanislaus) plum tomatoes, Garlic, and add Fresh Basil after it comes out of the oven.

 

[Steve]

I was under the impression that there was a classic way to do it, but it appears, like everything else there are plenty of “classic” variants. We are struggling with the price of it, thinking it should be a specialty pizza, but like december mentioned, its not THAT different from a cheese pizza or even just a 2 topping pizza. We are bagging the idea for now but may come back to it for the next menu going out. Basil Pesto, never wouldve even thought about it!

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[Rico]

I was under the impression that there was a classic way to do it, but it appears, like everything else there are plenty of “classic” variants. We are struggling with the price of it, thinking it should be a specialty pizza, but like december mentioned, its not THAT different from a cheese pizza or even just a 2 topping pizza. We are bagging the idea for now but may come back to it for the next menu going out. Basil Pesto, never wouldve even thought about it!

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https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/pizza-margherita-history-and-recipe

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[famousperry]

Here’s a variant:
Brush entire dough with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, spread a thin layer of Pesto Sauce (easier said than done) leaving a little crust, add usual amount of grated Mozzarella, cut Roma Tomatoes about 1/4” thick and place sparingly on top of cheese, then sprinkle some Ground Basil on top when you pull it out of the oven.

I was curious and just made one replacing my sauce with pesto and it was amazing…really brought out the taste of the tomato and we can use less fresh basil after it comes out…Going to make the switch when we print our next menus…thanks!

 

[durbancic]

My Margherita is my profile pic…we use our Marinara instead of pizza sauce as the base and top with Fresh Mozzarella, Alta Cucina (Stanislaus) plum tomatoes, Garlic, and add Fresh Basil after it comes out of the oven.

Ours is very similar. We serve it on a thin crust. Add minced garlic, marinara sauce instead of pizza sauce. Fresh mozzarella (grande) and tomatoes. Then after it is baked we add strips of fresh basil and drizzle EVOO.
We don’t sell a ton of them, have had to come up with other pizzas to use fresh mozz & basil so we don’t throw it away every week!

 

[Mike]

We have Margherita “Red” and a Margherita “white.” Red is with our normal pizza sauce, white is with our white pizza sauce (minced garlic and olive oil). “Red” is by far a better seller.

 

[jerseydevil1977]

Might need to be a new thread. With all the responses here using fresh basil, I was wondering how you store your fresh basil and where do you keep it? Do you keep it at the cut table? Is it shelf stable or do you keep it in the cooler? How long does it typically last? Have thought about bringing it in the past.

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[Pizza0504]

I’ve read the green bags help keep it fresh longer. If I buy anything from a cooler it stays in a cooler. All fresh greens go in the cooler or under the table. Some shops also turn it to pesto if it is getting close to being unusable. I’ve played with it a few times but for a delivery and carryout shop it just didn’t work for us. If we were dine in I would keep some on hand.

 

[MSG]

I was reluctant to offer the Margherita but customer demand was strong. I call it the Neo-Margherita, because given the ingredients and the oven available, I don’t feel comfortable calling it a true Margherita. The customers are satisfied.

What do I do?

I use the same dough. I use the same sauce. I put slices of mozz on it and bake it. Then post bake, I put on fresh basil, but it is cut chiffonade. I do this because it allows me to discard portions of the basil with brown spots without discarding the entire leaf.

I am fortunate that the grocery store across the street carries fresh basil. I go there every day and get just enough to get through the day.

 

[Tom_Lehmann]

I brush the opened skin lightly with oil, then add a little fresh garlic followed by sliced fresh tomato (slice about 3/16-inch thick and place on clean bar towels to remove excess moisture) one medium tomato is about right for a 12-inch pizza. Then apply fresh basil leaves and torn (peel like an orange) mozzarella and finish with a sprinkling of shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese (1-ounce for a 12-inch pizza). Lots of color, flavor and texture with a great rustic appearance. Optional: Finish with a drizzle of EVOO immediately upon removal from the oven.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor