I’ve always loved tomatoes and cured pork, the fresh sweet acidity is a great foil to the salty, crispy and oily pancetta. The cream sauce and just enough mozzarella for a good pull are under the pancetta. The fig leaf and lemon in the tomato honey give a light vanilla and coconut nuance that hugs the brie slice perfectly, and the tomato crisps add an exciting finale to every bite. This pizza is all in preparation. Once done, it is incredibly quick to make. Just make sure the pizza is chilled or the brie will melt into butter.
Tomato skin crisps:
Big Red Triple Tomato Pizza — Crisps
- 12 small toy tomatoes, (12 ounces total) 1-1.5 inches wide
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 fig leaves
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- Bring a small pot of water to the boil. Cut a shallow “X” in the bottom of each tomato.
- Place a medium bowl of ice water near the boiling water.
- When the water is boiling, drop the tomatoes into the water 5 at a time and cook for 15 seconds each until you pull them out and place them in the ice bath.
- After a few minutes in the ice bath, take out each tomato and pull the skin down the side and remove. Carefully place the skin on a plate side by side.
- Put all the tomatoes, lemon zest, salt and fig leaves in a small saucepan and simmer while the tomatoes are broken up with a wooden spoon. Let it simmer on medium until the tomatoes start to break down even more – 12-15 minutes. Remove fig leaves.
- Turn off the heat and grind the tomatoes with an immersion blender.
- Place a colander filled with a large square of cheesecloth on it.
- Pour the now cooled tomato mixture into this and let the juice run through.
- Brush with a wooden spoon to remove any blockage. Finally, pull up each corner of the cheesecloth and twist the top to force out the rest of the juice. You should have a final yield of ¾ cup to 1 cup.
- Put the juice in another small saute pan and add the sugar.
- Reduce the tomato juice over medium-low heat and when the sugar is liquid, add ½ tsp lemon juice. Taste to see if the lemon juice adds a bit of acidity to the sauce. If you need more, add another splash.
- Reduce the sauce by ¾, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and has the viscosity of honey. Remember that the sauce will thicken as it cools.
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For tomato skin chips:
Large Red Triple Tomato Pizza — Tomato Skin Crisp
- Preheat an oven to 190 F.
- Use a small tray lined with baking paper and place the tomato skins from the tomato honey around the tray.
- Sprinkle a small amount of fennel pollen, salt and fine paprika on the petal-shaped skins.
- Dehydrate in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the skin is crisp. Reserve for the pizza.
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For Bacon Tomato Pizza:
Big Red Triple Tomato Pizza with Pancetta and Brie
- 9 ounce proprietary pizza dough ball
- 2 tablespoons béchamel cream sauce
- 2.5 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 3 ounces Italian style pancetta, (4-5 rounds) or 5 thin slices thinly sliced ​​bacon
- 1 Roma tomato, (1.8 ounces), cored with the thick wall cut into small cubes, (3/4 cm)
- 5 thin slices of cold Brie cheese (about 3.5 -4 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons tomato honey, (see recipe above)
- 15-20 crispy tomato skins
- 1 sprig of basil for garnish
- Preheat a blanket oven to 550 F.
- Place the pancetta or bacon on a small baking tray to partially fry. If not, the bacon will not cook enough on the pizza.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes until it has rendered out some fat and is just beginning to crisp.
- Remove the pancetta from the oven and reserve for the pizza.
- Form a 12-inch pizza round from the dough ball and spread béchamel over the pizza.
- Spread the shredded mozzarella on top of the cream sauce, then place the pancetta around the pizza followed by the chopped tomato.
- Bake the pizza in the oven for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the pizza and place it on a wire rack. Wait for 5 minutes, then top the Brie in a spoke-wheel pattern starting from the center to the crust.
- Drizzle the tomato honey around the pizza and on top of the Brie.
- Place the crispy tomato skins around the pizza like wings, then place the basil bud in the center.
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