Two Cheese Marguerita Pizza

The flavor of this melt-in-your-mouth Marguerita pizza is kicked up a notch by adding yogurt and Parmesan cheese. Fresh tomatoes and shredded mozzarella take the place of traditional tomato sauce.

This pizza makes for a wonderful dinner served with a Caesar salad or sliced into squares for a party appetizer.

We often make pizzas on the grill. Our Big Green Egg reaches a high tem-perature and quickly bakes the pie to perfection.

Oven

1 pizza crust — homemade as described in my cookbook, Breads & Spreads , pg 113, or refrigerated

1 tablespoon cornmeal

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided) 3 small plum or Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, snipped

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 garlic clove, pressed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, basil, yogurt, mayonnaise and garlic, mixing well with a wooden spoon to combine.
Sprinkle rectangular baking sheet (approximately 12 x 15) with cornmeal.
Roll out the pizza dough to within one inch of the edge of stone or sheet pan.
Sprinkle crust with 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Place tomatoes over cheese.
Scoop mixture over tomatoes and spread evenly to edges.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

For this particular recipe, I prefer the oven method over the grill — for any other recipes, grilling is my preference.

Gas or Charcoal Grill

Preheat a gas grill to high. If you are using a charcoal grill, build a fire and let it burn down until the coals are glowing red with some coating of white ash. Spread coals out evenly.
Brush one side of the rolled-out dough with olive oil and place directly on the grill with the oiled side face down. Brush other side with olive oil.
Grill the pizza 3 to 4 minutes until it is marked and puffed up.
Flip the pizza over and assemble as described above.
Close the lid on the grill.
Cook until crust is golden brown and bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes longer.

Tips :

For an easy crust, purchase refrigerated or frozen pizza dough. If frozen, plan ahead to thaw for 10 hours before using.
When fresh basil is not available, substitute with 2 teaspoons dried basil.