Inside-Out Summer Vegetable Pizza

Summer is prime tomato season here in the Northeast, and local seasonal tomatoes are easy to come by. It doesn’t get more local than growing tomatoes in your own home garden. These bright summer fruits are actually very easy to grow, and employing your green thumb will save you time and money and deliver the freshest tomatoes right to your kitchen. That being said, what better way to incorporate seasonal tomatoes into summer cooking than to make a pizza?

For those of you who know me, you have probably heard me talk about Friday pizza night at the Rizzo household. My mom has made pizza every Friday night for as long as I can remember. I actually can’t believe I haven’t put a pizza recipe up on my blog yet! I call this pizza an “inside out pizza” because the cheese is on the bottom and it’s topped with delicious roasted tomatoes, zucchini, fresh garlic, herbs and olive oil.

Leaving out the salty jarred sauce and using only the freshest ingredients on this pizza makes it a healthy delicious dish for Meatless Monday or Pizza Friday! My sister was the recipient of this blog creation, and she said it was “the best pizza you’ve ever made”. Try it out for your next summer cook out and see for yourself!

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Makes 1 large pizza –about 8 slices

Ingredients:

1 pizza dough, room temperature

** (I usually buy a pre-made dough from the bakery or grocery store—Make your own using this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe.html)

3 tablespoons flour

Cooking spray

1 cup shredded mozzarella (I like to buy an Italian blend of mozzarella, parmesan, and asiago)

3 plum tomatoes, sliced

½ small zucchini, chopped

½ small yellow squash, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon parsley flakes

1-2 tablespoons Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat the pizza dough in flour and begin to gently spread the dough over a flat surface. Do not pull the dough, as this will create holes. Gently push the dough out from the middle until it is the size of the pan.
• Coat a pizza pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place the dough onto the pan, and put it in the oven for 3-5 minutes. The dough will rise slightly during this time.
• Remove the dough from the oven and let it cool in the pan for a few minutes.
• Once the dough is cool enough to touch, evenly spread the cheese over the dough.
• Place sliced tomatoes over the cheese, then layer on the zucchini.
• Sprinkle fresh garlic, oregano, and parsley on top of the vegetables.
• Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the pizza back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Cooking times may vary by oven. Check the bottom of the pizza for doneness—it should be golden brown when ready.

Nutrition Notes:

• Have you heard of lycopene? It’s a phytochemical that gives tomatoes their red color and may help lower the risk of prostate and other cancers as well as stroke.
• Tomatoes are a low-calorie snack. One medium sized tomato contains only 20 calories!
• One tomato contains 20% the daily value or Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Cut up 5 tomatoes for an afternoon snack of only 100 calories and all your daily needs of Vitamin A and C!
• One zucchini contains more than ½ the daily value of Vitamin C, making it a great immunity booster.