cherry tomato pizza margherita

I've featured different kinds of pizza on the blog several times, but I've never tried a basic margherita. The recipe I tried is a variation of one I found. It includes a nice kick with the addition of the red pepper. And it's super quick and easy, which is always nice. You could also probably use this recipe to cheat a really simple pasta sauce! Here's what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• Dozen or so cherry tomatoes, stemmed (do not cut!)
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 
• 1 4 oz. ball fresh mozzarella in water (ovoline), coarsely diced 
• 4 ounces shredded whole-milk mozzarella
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 6" whole wheat pita breads (or you can make the pizza crust from scratch if you wanna be all fancy)

Position the rack in the top third of your oven and preheat to 425°F.

Heat a large skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Add the oil, then tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tomatoes are charred and beginning to break down, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in the garlic and crushed red pepper. Using the back of a fork, crush the tomatoes in a bowl, leaving large chunks intact. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, toss the cheeses and chopped basil. Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly over dough, right up to border. Spoon on tomato mixture in dollops, leaving some cheese uncovered. Bake the pizza until crust is crisp and brown, 10-15 minutes. Loosen pizza with metal spatula and slide onto board. Garnish with basil leaves. Bon chappétit!