Karen’s friend maureen hasseltine created a brilliant side dish of Roma tomatoes drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and placed in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Then she quickly removed the pan and stuffed bunches of fresh basil leaves around the tomatoes, drizzled it with more olive oil, and returned to the hot oven for about 5 more minutes to “frizzle” the basil. Here is our version as a pizza with the tomato suggestions of Sun Gold (our favorite yellow cherry tomato) and Super Sweet 100 (our favorite red cherry tomato). The high heat turns these sweet tomatoes into even sweeter tomato bombs that pop with flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes (use Sun Gold and Super Sweet 100, if available)
- 1 recipe Brick Oven–Style Dough
- All-purpose flour for rolling and dusting
- ¼ cup cornmeal for sprinkling
- Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing and drizzling
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- Kosher or sea salt
How to Make It
- Preheat the grill and the pizza oven insert on high heat until the temperature reaches 650° to 700°F.
- Slice two-thirds of the red and yellow cherry tomatoes in half and leave one-third of the smallest tomatoes whole.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions. Hand toss, or, on a floured surface, pat or roll each portion into a 12-inch diameter circle.
- Sprinkle a pizza peel or a flexible cutting board with half of the cornmeal. Arrange a pizza circle on the cornmeal- dusted peel. Brush with olive oil. Spread with half of the tomatoes, leaving a ½-inch border. Tuck half of the basil leaves evenly among the tomatoes, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
- Hold the pizza peel level with the grill rack so that the pizza will slide onto the center of the hot pizza stone. With a quick forward jerk of your arm, slide the pizza from the peel to the stone. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the basil leaves have frizzled. Slide the peel under the pizza and remove it from the pizza oven. Repeat the process with the other pizza.
