3 Cheese Margherita Pizza

     Wow.  This is AMAZING.  These are the words that sang like music to my ears from my husband's mouth after his first bite.  I was a little worried about putting a pizza in front of him that not only didn't have meat but only had one vegetable (or fruit, as it were) topping.  But, have no fear, this pizza does not disappoint!  I don't even like tomatoes very much and I loved this pizza.  Don't wait, go make this.  Now.  And use this crust recipe... it's called Ricardo's Pizza Crust and it's off of allrecipes.com.  I discovered it the first time I made dough from scratch and it ended what I thought would be years of searching, trying to find the perfect pizza crust.  I have no desire to try another crust recipe ever again.  This is THE ONE.  

INGREDIENTS (crust) 

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine water, olive oil, sugar, salt in pan of bread machine Add flour, then sprinkle garlic on flour. Lastly add yeast.
2. Turn machine on dough cycle. As the dough mixes, sprinkle on oregano and basil until it suits you for color and taste. Let mix for about 15 to 30 minutes. Let the dough rest from 5 to 30 minutes. The longer it rests, the thicker and more tasty the crust. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees F (245 degrees C).
3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface. Spray a large pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough on pan and add your choice of pizza toppings.
4. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.  

INGREDIENTS (Pizza) 

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 vine ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 pizza crust (I just roll mine out to fit my pizza stone)
• 2 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• dried basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir together olive oil, garlic, and salt; toss with tomatoes, and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Brush pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade. Sprinkle the pizza evenly with Mozzarella cheese. Arrange tomatoes overtop, then sprinkle with basil, Parmesan, and feta cheese.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 12 minutes.

     Now, I made this pizza half with pizza sauce and half with just the marinade as the original recipe called for.  I was skeptical of not having sauce on the pizza because of a bad experience in the past.  However, my husband and I both agree that the pizza was better WITHOUT the sauce.  So, stick with the olive oil marinade, it's great!  And feel free to use 5 fresh basil leaves, shredded, in place of dried basil.  I didn't have any and it was expensive so I opted for dried.  This is the first pizza I've ever had that I LOVED without dipping it in Ranch dressing.  That is proof enough in my book that this pizza is phenomenal.  Enjoy!