January 02, 2007

Pesto Pizza with Sundried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts

Pizza dough
8 oz fresh mozzarella, shredded
3 oz sun dried tomatoes, sliced and patted dry if needed
5 oz canned or jarred artichoke hearts, sliced and patted dry


Preheat the oven to 500. Follow the pizza dough recipe up until the point where the round of dough is on the pizza stone and is awaiting sauce. Spread about a 1/4 cup of the pesto on the dough leaving the 1/2 inch of raised dough bare. Sprinkle with cheese and arrange the artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes on the surface. Bake about 8 minutes or until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from the stone (it helps to have a pizza peel) and serve.
My thoughts:
This was the main course of our 80s night. To me, nothing says '80s cuisine like sun dried tomatoes and "California" pizza. What I forgot was how good these pizzas can be! Normally I am a pizza traditionalist, but the pesto sauce instead of usual tomato-based sauce was an amazing idea. I was worried it might be a little greasy what with the oil in the pesto and the oil packed artichokes and sun dried tomatoes but the pizza was totally grease free and very delicious. I forgot how good homemade pizza tastes and these flavors (while they are very Spago) went together wonderfully. It was a little time consuming (my husband started making the crust 2 hours before we wanted to eat) but there is very little "hands on time" which leaves you free to make the pesto and clean up before it goes in the oven.


  1. Yum! I love artichokes on pizza.

  2. Oh yummy! That looks fantastic.

  3. All things I love. I would love some of this.

  4. That looks like my dream pizza, well unless someone is delivering from Andrea's down the street. I may have to make it tomorrow.


  5. Pizzas everywhere! This looks utterly delish - but seeing as you were lucky enough to consume this one, you already know that ;)

  6. I would've contemplated some feta on that

  7. Ha! It makes me think of that episode of Friends where Monica meets the dude chef and they bond over a shared resteraunt critique "I was like, what was up with the sundried tomatoes? What is this, 1985?"

    Looks delicious!



