Italy-ish

Rustic Tomato-Chicken Pizza

We all have that little section of our brain that day dreams about traveling through in Italy, eating incredible food and sipping on a delicious glass of home-made wine, overlooking a beautiful Italian countryside. That portion of my brain is stronger than most of the other parts, and being Irish and not Italian; I don’t really get authentic Italian all too often.

I LOVE tomatoes and use them whenever I can in my cooking so I decided to make a ‘Italian-esque’ Rustic Pizza with shredded basil, plum tomatoes and a little different sauce than most would use. Trying to capture part of my daydream of drinking a glass of wine while looking out on a beautiful landscape I chose to use a little more expensive sauce, a Cabernet Marinara. I was never a big fan of traditional pizza sauces because they are too thin and taste like ketchup, the Cabernet Marinara offers a little more thickness and a delicious red wine flavor with hints of herbs. Since I was going uptown with the sauce there was no way I was just going to use basic Mozzarella. I switched it up and used a blend of Fontina, Romano, Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone. The mixture of moist and dry aged cheese provided an awesome variety of flavors with each bite.

What You Need

Topped With Shredded Basil

Finished Product

• 1 10” Pre-made Pizza Crust (White or Whole Wheat, Your Call)
• 1 Jar of Classico Cabernet Marinara Sauce
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Parsley Flakes
• 6 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 2-3 Ripe Roma Plum Tomatoes
• 1 Cup Shredded Blend of Italian Cheeses (such as Fontina, Romano, Asiago, Parmesan Mozzarella and Provolone)
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Cup Chopped Rotissere or Grilled Chicken
• Salt & Pepper To Taste

 How to

1. Heat Oven to 425
2. Julienne Plum Tomatoes, shred basil into fine strips and Cube Chicken into 1” Pieces
3. Brush Pizza Crust with Olive Oil until thoroughly coated
4. In Separate Bowl mix cheese with, half of the garlic powder and  parsley together.
5. Spoon desired amount of Sauce onto Pizza crust
6. Add half the tomatoes and chicken to pizza and then add a layer of cheese top with rest of chicken, tomato, basil and sprinkle the other half of  the garlic and parsley!
7. Place Pizza on the center of the middle rack of the oven rotating every few minutes for 8 minutes and finish on the top rack for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown!

Enjoy!

Golden-Brown Melty Cheese