Pizza - Spicy Salami, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil with Filete di Pomodoro Sauce

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying out homemade pizzas.  Using a heated pizza stone, has been key in producing a crispy, chewy thin crust.  Today I decided to venture into a simple traditional pie.  Using only four ingredients; spicy salami, fresh basil, sliced mozzarella and prepared Filete di Pomodoro sauce, on top of rolled out refrigerated pizza dough, I was hopeful that it would produce a flavorful but clean final product.  It did!  Two things I learned, one, be patient as I burnt the roof of my mouth, though it was definitely worth it and two, consider adding the basil at the last minute to keep its color and freshness.

Total Time - 25-30 minutes

10-15 minutes for heating oven, rolling out dough and assembling pie

15 minutes to cook

Ingredients

One sliced fresh mozzarella ball

15-20 fresh basil leaves

15-20 slices of spicy salami

6 oz.  Filete di Pomodoro sauce

One package of refrigerated pizza dough

Flour as needed to roll out the pizza dough

Course corn meal for sprinkling on heated pizza stone

Directions

Set oven at 500 degrees and place pizza stone inside to warm up.

Wash the peeled basil thoroughly to get out sand.  Repeat.

Slice the mozzarella ball into thin slices.  One ball should yield about 8 slices.

Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and place dough on flour. Roll and flip until it is the right size for your stone.

Sprinkle course corn meal on heated stone (make sure the stone is hot).  Carefully place rolled out dough on the stone and cover entire surface.  Flip over or smooth out any excess dough. 

Place sauce, preferably using a ladle, on the middle of the dough and spread evenly, up to about a one-inch area from the edge.  Add the rest of the ingredients on top of the sauce. 

Place in oven for 10 minutes at 500 degrees.  At ten-minute mark, turn the broiler on to high for about 2-3 minutes, watching to get top of pizza some color and crisp up the crust.  Return for 2 minutes longer to 500 degrees and then remove from oven.  Allow to cool for a couple of minutes at then slice into 6-8 slices using a pizza cutter.

Serve and enjoy!  

The collected ingredients

All ingredients ready to go.

Roll out the prepared dough using flour as needed to roll it out.

Sprinkle corn meal on the hot stone and then fit the dough on top.  Add ingredients.

Use extra basil to make a pesto sauce for another meal.

Fifteen minutes at 500 degrees, with a two minute period on high broil at the 10 minute point.