The shelves in my mind have always been crowded, and during the pandemic, they seem to have even less room. Despite sleeping eight, nine hours some nights, I can’t muster the energy for a lot during the day. Answering a text message, folding laundry, fixing my car, watering the plants–tasks large and small slip through my fingers and I put them off to another day.
Yet more often than not, I whip out the pots and pans and make the effort for dinner. Looking forward to delicious food gets me to through the day.
This 15-minute margherita pizza from Let the Baking Begin has become my go-to for Friday nights when I’m ready to keel over. Credit goes to LtBB’s Marina for developing the original recipe. I’ve made it so many times that I’ve developed a few shortcuts to ensure I always have this recipe in my back pocket. For my personal taste, I’ve used less olive oil, and I’ve totally removed the balsamic vinegar.
The key part of this recipe is its extremely low effort. I always keep naan in the freezer, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes on hand, and a tube of basil stir-in paste in the fridge door.
Recipe for One Personal Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 naan bread. I use Stonefire naan. Each package comes with two.
- 3 pieces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced to ⅓ inch thickness
- Tomato sliced as thin as possible (often 1/2 a tomato, depending on how large your tomatoes are)
- 1 Tbsp of basil stir-in paste
- 1 Tbsp of pressed or minced garlic
- 1.5 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Tips:
- Re: Naan. If your naan has been in the freezer, don’t worry. It will defrost and crisp up during the first part of the recipe, although I typically like to leave it out a bit first.
- Re: Mozzarella. If you are able, buy good, fresh mozzarella. It makes the dish so much better.
- Re: Garlic. I have been using minced garlic from a jar during the pandemic. However, fresh-minced garlic is your best bet for delicious flavor, according to Bon Appetit. If, like me, you’re the type to double the garlic in every recipe, don’t do that here. You need a balance.
- Re: Getting a crispy pizza. You don’t want your pizza to be soggy. So limit liquids. Slice that tomato thin.
- Re: Basil. I use Gourmet Garden Basil Stir-In Paste. When I make this recipe, it’s typically because I haven’t thought ahead to what to make for dinner, I don’t feel like going grocery shopping, and I want to use no effort. Hence, I always keep a tube of paste in the fridge. Note, the tubes are recyclable.
- Want to add other toppings? I’ve added thin-sliced eggplant in the past, as well as thin-sliced mushrooms, and they’ve been a treat.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Press or mince 2-3 fresh garlic cloves and mix with 1.5 Tbsp olive oil. If you are using minced garlic from a jar, use about 1 Tbsp.
- Brush the flatbread with oil and garlic. I use a silicone brush.
- Cover a pan with foil and place pizza on it. Put in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp up.
- Remove from the oven and place 3 slices of cheese on top of the flatbread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place thinly sliced tomatoes on top and sprinkle salt and pepper again.
- Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and add 1 Tbsp of basil spread. Use the silicone brush to spread it over your toppings.
- Set oven to broil and place flatbread in oven for 2-3 minutes. This is the “toughest” part of the recipe. Watch your pizza!
- When your pizza has some nice golden-brown color, remove it from the oven. All set!
I hope this recipe helps you alleviate some of the stress of keeping it together during the long winter nights. It’s definitely a comfort to me!