Let’s Make Pizza Night Fun!
After a whole month of no blogging, no cooking and baking I’m back in the biz with this star of a recipe – “Italian Herb Crusted Cheese Pizza!”
I was extremely busy with my mid terms exams and eid shopping, so I couldn’t get a chance to publish new posts on my blog. Exams were taking priority sadly. But from now till eid, I’ll be try to more regular (InshaAllah)!
I’m a lover of Italian food and fresh herbs and my family loves pizza in all forms. One of our favorite family meals is homemade pizza. We make regular Homemade pizza, Pan pizza, Pizza Cups, Pizza Rolls, Pizza sandwiches , Pizza Paratha and Pizza fries. One thing we love about it is that you can get really creative with toppings and today’s recipe is one of my recent (and favorite) creations –Italian Herb Crusted Cheese Pizza.
Can you say “Delicioso?” OMG, this pizza did not disappoint! This, to me, is the perfect Italian Flavored pizza. The crust is light and crispy. The sauce is thick and tomato-y. The fresh mozzarella is mild and cheesy. The basil leaves are bright and fresh and the herb aroma is amazing. When I bit in and my mouth filled with saucy, cheesy, herby goodness I’m pretty sure I had a pizzagasm. The cheese melted perfectly into the crust , the flavors being even more dramatic where it had browned into that crunchy, cheesy topping.
I love eating food where in each bite you get something a little bit different, it makes it all the more interesting and enjoyable to eat and this pizza definitely delivers that… I like the basil leaves to be baked along with the pizza, but you can sprinkle them on top after baking if you prefer them uncooked. This recipe can be done with little effort, but it has a big impact on your taste buds and entire dinner experience.
For this pizza I decided to use the pre-made homemade pizza dough, but feel free to make your own from scratch. It’s very straightforward to make and if you don’t fancy making your own pizza base then you could simply add the toppings to a store bought pizza crust. I always brush my pizza dough with olive oil and herb seasoning to make it even more delicious!
While my pizza dough was rising in the pan, I prepared the pizza toppings. The pizza crust bakes for about 10-15 minutes in a 200 degree oven (or until crispy and light brown and cheese is melted). The secret to a good Sicilian crust is a nice coating of olive oil on the pan. That helps crisp up the bottom of the crust. A very hot oven is also crucial. The hard part is waiting for this oh so delicious pizza! The wait is definitely worth it, because you are rewarded with an amazingly delicious pizza.
I’m thinking cheesy flatbread for my next attempt!
Bismillah, let’s get started!!
Check it out the Chicken Shashlik Sticks recipe and printable version here!!
Italian Herb Crusted Cheese Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
For Pizza
- 1 large pizza crust homemade or store bought
- for Homemade pizza dough recipe click HERE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 cup pizza sauce
For Pizza Topping
- 1 cup Cooked BBQ flavored Chicken you can use any flavor of your choice
- 1-1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend
- 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1 small green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 7-8 black olives sliced
- a Handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200°C.
- Grease a 16-inch pizza pan with butter or a non-stick cooking spray. Set asdie.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll pizza dough into a 16 inch circle.
- Poke in a few areas with a fork, cover, and let rise 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, In a small bowl, mix together the butter, olive oil, basil,oregano, rosemary and garlic.
- Transfer dough to a prepared pan or baker's peel.
- Spread butter-herb mixture over the dough.
- Now add a layer of pizza sauce, Italian cheese blend and a one cup of mozzarella cheese.
- Top with the chicken pieces, onion, green pepper and olives.
- Top with remaining mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
- Sprinkle a pinch of dried oregano, basil,rosemary and fresh basil leaves.
- Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.
- Delicious Italian Italian Herb Crusted Cheese Pizza is ready to serve. ENJOY!!
Notes
Serve with Roasted Summer Vegetables for a complete healthy and nutritious meal.
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #Recipestable & #TastyRecipesbyBushrah. I’d love to see what you cook!
What a great recipe! Simple, flavorful & easy to customize to tastes/preference! I made “bread” pizza with this–using a piece of organic whole wheat bread. I used some melted low fat butter instead of olive oil. I also used low fat mozzarella & added dried parsley to the seasoning mix. I also added some vegetarian pepperoni for a little more flavor. Baked in my toaster oven at 400 for 15 min & it was great. Thanks so much for sharing!!