Week #29: New Jersey - Trenton Tomato Pie

State:  New Jersey

I have been to New Jersey a couple of times and they are definitely known for pizza.  In Trenton, the famous pizza is the Tomato Pie.  A tomato pie is slightly different than a regular pizza, but has a significant taste.  I decided to go for it and this was very simple to make.  This pizza is very simple, but amazing!   I hope you enjoy it!

 

Ingredients:

1 can of whole peeled San Marzano Tomatoes

1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese

1 pizza crust - from scratch or pre-made

olive oil

Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp of garlic

Sauce:

In a processor, puree the tomatoes till they become a sauce.  Remove from the processor and add to a bowl.  Add spices and stir until mixed thoroughly.  Set aside.

Pizza:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  First, add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the crust.  Next, add the mozzarella cheese all over the pizza.  The final step, take a spoonful of sauce and put in areas in between the cheese (see above).  Make sure there is space in between the sauce and cheese.  Put into oven and cook for 5-7 minutes.  Once crust seems like it has been cooked, turn on the broil function on low and watch carefully.  The key is to get a nice orange or burn on the top like it would in a brick oven.  Be careful not to overcook or burn the cheese. Watch until it gets slightly orange and then remove from heat. 

Pairing:

For this pizza, I went with a Flying Fish IPA from New Jersey.  This was a pretty good beer and I would recommend any pale ale or IPA with this.  For wine, a nice Pinot Noir or red blend would be good with this pizza. 

Learning Moments:

Again, the main and constant theme here to making pizzas is simplicity.  You do not need a lot of ingredients to make a really good pizza.  This pizza barely had any ingredients, but it tastes completely different from a regular style pizza.  I loved it and would definitely eat it again!!  Cheers!