Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

[texassourdough]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

We are on the same page, Mitch!

I just got home from a two week trip and found a BUNCH of beautifully ripe medium to large tomatoes on my vines. FINALLY! They didn't produce but a handful of tomatoes during the summer due to our drought.

I prefer cherry and grape tomatoes for many purposes but I will always take home grown over commercial!

Bake On!
Jay

[Mitchamus]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

I like to oven dry them a bit - about 170 degrees for about four to six hours. (I sprinkle them with a small amount of salt, sugar and olive oil).

Jay - that's exactly what I do as well.
I sometimes also dry other wetish ingredients like capsicum too.

Although tasty - I really don't like a puddle of juice with my pizza.

My grape tomato seedlings are doing well, hopefully I'll have a great crop for pizzas come mid summer!

[texassourdough]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Good discussion guys!

I like to use cherry tomatoes also but I like to oven dry them a bit - about 170 degrees for about four to six hours. (I sprinkle them with a small amount of salt, sugar and olive oil). The low heat lets them keep a relatively fresh taste but they are drier and thereby don't cause as much problem with the dough.

Bake On!
Jay

[trockyh]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Thanks for the info Dino, we grow lots of basil as well as tons of garlic. We have a greenhouse so I start all my plants from seed or cuttings.
The woody stem for smoke idea sounds (smells) great.
Thanks, Tom
P.S. Pouring the slab this morning. yahoo!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Thanks Tom (in PA)! I'll stick with caupto. I'll also try the fresh cherry tomatoes halves, face up on the pizza. Looks good.

Say, trockyh, in your future pizza garden, be sure to include lots of basil. I look for the gallon starter plants they sell at stores that have at least a half dozen seedlings in them, separate them and plant them all over the backyard. Some find their "lucky spot" and still put out into early winter. The whole basil leaf is perfect of course with pizza and then you can make pesto for those "white" pizzas. Oh, save the woody stems for kindle and they also make the best smoke chips for fish and chicken next year.

-Thanks, Dino

[trockyh]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

I love these... and we always seem to be able to grow more than we can eat .. I just put the tomatoes, garlic, oil, spice, parmesan....

Cheers
Mark

Hey Mark,

That looks so good. I can't wait to start cooking in my oven. Hummm....my soon to be built oven. We have a large garden on the property, but I plan to put in an herb garden with some tomatoes and peppers next to the oven. Is there anything else I should plant there?
I've never made a pizza, but I'm pretty good in the kitchen, so figure it's just one more thing to learn.

Tom

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

The pizzas look great. Fresh sliced cherry tomatoes work very well also.

I love these... and we always seem to be able to grow more than we can eat .. I just put the tomatoes, garlic, oil, spice, parmesan....

Cheers
Mark

[cuda]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

I've had Tom's tomato vinaigrette and can attest to the high quality. I've never had a finer pizza, sandwich, or salad topping. Very simple and elegant. Tom might correct me, but I think the key is the aged balsamic, so don't skimp there or the results won't be the same. I also concur that Caputo is the only real choice for pizza dough. Good luck.

[tgm]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Dino,

I like that cheese mix and I am going to try it this weekend, Thanx
Yes you could use pre-made dough, yes you could use other flour but if you have access to Caputo and have tasted the end results.....why would you!!!
I have been in Caputo heaven for the last 4 years. Am I going to try any of the above....no way Jose'!! You don't fix what ain't broke.......as they say.

Nice pizzas by the way......

Tom in PA

[dsgreco]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

The pizzas look great. Fresh sliced cherry tomatoes work very well also.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Here's 2 pics of my pizzas with sliced tomatoes from my garden. I did seed them, sliced thin, tossed with fresh grated garlic and let them drain 2 hours in a colander. The pizza are with crumbled Italian sausage that I lightly fried up 1st. The cheese is Johns (jrparks) recommended mix of 2 parts Fontina to 1 parts pecorino and Greek Kasseri cheeses. AMAZING cheese mix !

The closer pizza was with 1 month old, frozen dough and the farther is with fresh made the day before. It rose much better, the crust edge taller although taste was similar.

Everyone asks me if/when I'll try Trader Joes pre-made dough or ordinary flour. Someday...but while I'm still in Caputo Heaven, you can't me -Dino

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Tom, that's like a great fresh marinara type sauce. I'll definitely try it and the drained vinaigrette sounds like a keeper too Thanks for sharing, Dino

[tgm]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

We have been using chopped marinated fresh romas all summer long and everyone just raves about them. We also use DOP San Marzanos, lightly broken up by hand for the purists in our group.
For that marinated tomatoes we chop the tomatoes into a classic dice. We then add fresh chopped garlic, chopped basil, sea salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper. Then we add EVO and 18 year old basalmic vinegar and let marinade for at least one hour.
Just before we are ready to make pizza we drain the marinated tomatoes of all the juices. We save the juice as it becomes a delicious tomato vinegarette with all the juices mixed in.
We then use a shmear of EVO on the crust and then start with the chopped tomatoes and build from there. Everyone we feed this to raves about it.
We have done the exact the same scenaio with thinly sliced tomatoes. The key is to drain away the marinade to eliminate the soggy aspect with excess juice as RT explains above. The above tomatoe vinegarette goes wonderful with spring greens to eat along with the pizza. We just made some for lunch today and the pizza was awesome.
Try it, you'll like it....

Good Luck,

Tom in PA

[papavino]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

The sliced tomatoes do get very HOT for some reason and hold the heat causing burnt tongue if not careful.

So true. Our neighbor brought over some tomatoes last weekend and I think we all burnt the tops of our mouths on them. But they tasted fantastic.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Tomato sliced whole or sauced on Pizza?

Thanks RT and Waitingtocook, great suggestions. I took RT's advice and removed the seeds from the tomatoes and sliced them thinly.
We made Margaritas with the tomatoes on the dough. Came out fine. The other pizzas with a thin layer of cheese on the base 1st (then more later) came out even better. The sliced tomatoes do get very HOT for some reason and hold the heat causing burnt tongue if not careful. Just shows how delicious the smell was so it's hard to wait for it to cool.
I like your idea of chopping them finely. It would give the fresh tomato taste and spreadability too. Will try that next time. Thanks Dino