Corn and Tomato Pizza

I looked in the freezer the other day and noticed something wrapped in foil in the shape of a pizza. Aha! An easy dinner. Must eat now. Unfortunately, an onion pizza did not appeal to me at all. Then I went to Baked Bree to read her latest entry, which was a recipe for pizza, just what I wanted. It was a combination of new flavors, too, so I was inspired to make it. I had to adjust the recipe, though, because I didn't have any pesto or mozzarella on hand, so I had just a Corn and Tomato Pizza.



I'm sure the pizza would taste much better with the pesto and the mozzarella, but it tasted great without them too. The absence of those two ingredients made the pizza less greasy and less heavy, which I prefer. Parmesan and sugar, by the way, tastes fantastic together. Even though I used sweet corn, it didn't make the pizza too sweet. It was a great mixture and the tomatoes added a nice juicy flavor.



Instead of using the pizza dough recipe that Baked Bree provides, I used one from Martha Stewart. I have about 20 other recipes bookmarked too, but decided to give this one a try because I love cornmeal. It's an easy dough to put together and the end result is a soft and chewy crust. This one turned out a lot better than the one I used to make pizza last year. But then again, the recipe was meant for a bread machine, so I probably didn't knead it enough. This pizza dough didn't require a great deal of kneading, thankfully. I was cooking for myself so I made mini-pizzas, but if you'd like to make one big pizza, just don't divide the dough as the recipe states.

Corn and Tomato Pizza
Adapted from Baked Bree

- 1 pizza crust (recipe below)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/4 cup Parmesan
- 1 tsp sugar

1. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Sprinkle the cut-side up with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix the corn, Parmesan, and sugar.
3. Roll out pizza dough and cover with corn mixture and tomatoes.
4. Bake according to pizza crust recipe. Serve immediately.



Cornmeal Pizza Crust
From Martha Stewart

- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- Pinch of sugar
- 2/3 cups warm water
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- 1/4 cup cornmeal, plus more for baking sheet
- 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm water. Let stand until yeast is dissolved and mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir ingredients with a wooden spoon just until dough starts to come together. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Divide dough into four equal-sized balls. Place balls in a shallow oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat oven to 500F. Stretch dough into 6- or 7-inch rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on foil lined on baking sheet. Place dough rounds on top, and cover with toppings, as desired. Bake until crust is crisp and golden and toppings are bubbling, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; serve immediately.