Pizza with Yellow Tomato Sauce

Please don't tell anyone I ate a whole pizza tonight. Really, it's pathetic, I have no self-control when left to my own devices. But it was just so delicious. I had thawed out a ball of dough from Fresh Direct, and I made a fresh sauce from a big ripe yellow tomato. I know it doesn't look yellow after adding tomato paste, but it has a much lighter sweet flavor than red. When I make pizza, I focus on layering flavors. A pizza should not just be sauce and cheese. Sometimes your cheese comes off in the first bite. Sometimes there's a bald spot with no sauce. Sometimes everything just comes together in perfect harmony in that bite from the tip of the slice. So pizza is all about making sure every bite is amazing. That is why it is important to add flavor and seasoning every step of the way - about 4 times. First, in making the sauce, make sure there is enough salt, maybe even some sugar for sweetness, and pepper for a hint of spice. I think of the crust as a garlic bread - something I would be happy eating even without topping. Then I add herbs over the sauce, and again on top of the cheese.

Lately, I am experimenting with sauce. I have realized over time, that you don't need to cook down a sauce for a long time when making it from scratch. I'm really getting into throwing raw ingredients into a blender as a sauce, and just cooking it enough to get the water out. It actually makes a much fresher, cleaner flavor. Most importantly, it is much lower in sodium when you control what goes into it. Again, please forgive the awful photo, our camera is currently en route from Frankfurt to Bangkok.

Pizza with Yellow Tomato Sauce
(for 1 small 10” pizza)
Sauce:
1 Large Yellow Tomato
1 small garlic clove
1 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt (Kosher)
4 grinds of black pepper

Pie:
Pizza dough for 1 10-12” pizza, stretched thin
Cornmeal
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt (Kosher)
Garlic Powder
Dried Oregano, Basil & Parsley
Thin sliced rings from a small yellow onion
Shredded Mozzarella
Grated Parmesan cheese

Remove stem area from tomato, cut into large chunks. Add this, and all the sauce ingredients to a blender and chop until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Heat oven to 450. Stretch the crust carefully and coat the bottom side with cornmeal. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with some kosher salt and garlic powder. Pre-bake the crust until it starts to turn golden and bubble.

Top crust with dollops of sauce and season with basil and oregano. Distribute the onion rings evenly and top with cheeses and parsley flakes. Bake again for about 10 minutes or until cheese and crust turns brown and crispy.