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Pesto–Heirloom Tomato Pizza

By Nava Atlas
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Photo by Hannah Kaminsky

Top a baked pizza crust with garlicky spinach pesto and raw sliced heirloom tomatoes for a wonderfully fresh summer dinner.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 2 (12–14-inch) pizzas

Ingredients

For the pesto sauce:

1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves, or to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, or more to taste
1/2 cup walnut halves or shelled unsalted pistachios or 1/4 cup pine nuts (omit nuts if you’d like a less caloric pesto)
6 ounces baby spinach, arugula, watercress, or a combination
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the pizza:

Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust
Heirloom tomatoes, sliced, to taste (preferably a mix of yellow and red varieties)
Basil leaves, thinly sliced, for topping
Vegan Parmesan-style cheese and fresh oregano for topping (optional)

Preparation

  1. Make the pesto:

    Step 1

    Combine the first five ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is evenly combined yet still coarse in texture. You may need to add the spinach in batches if your processor has a small or medium-size container.

    Step 2

    Stop the machine and season the mixture gently with salt and pepper; taste to see if you'd like to add more lemon juice, then pulse a few times to mix.

  2. Make the pizza:

    Step 3

    Bake pizza dough rounds in a preheated 425°F oven for 15 minutes, until crust is golden.

    Step 4

    Spread pizza crust with pesto, then load up with sliced heirloom tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with plenty of thinly sliced basil leaves. Some Vegan Parmesan-style cheese and fresh oregano leaves would add a nice touch, too. This can be served at room temperature.

Image may contain: Plant, Food, Produce, and Vegetable
From Plant Power © 2014 by Nava Atlas. Reprinted with permission by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.
TagsPizzaHeirloom TomatoTomatoVegetableBasilHerbs & SpicesMainDinnerDairy FreeVegetarianVeganOven BakeFood ProcessorCookbooksHarper Collins
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