Light Winter Dinners: Margarita Pizza With Whole Wheat Crust

Who doesn't love pizza? Anyone? I didn't think so. For the final light winter dinner recipe, I wanted to make a lighter, healthier pizza. I can't say that this recipe turned out to be lighter but it is a bit better than the typical greasy stuff that comes in a delivery box. It's also way better. There are several steps to this recipe so it's best suited for a Friday night or weekend dinner. I wouldn't recommend it for a weeknight. 

When I originally wrote this recipe, I only used the mozzarella medallions in an attempt to make it lighter than a typical overly cheesy pizza. Then I started eating the cheese and I decided I was in a super cheesy mood. I added a few extra sprinkles of shredded mozzarella and it was amazing. 

You could technically use whatever tomatoes you prefer on this pizza but I prefer grape or cherry tomatoes because they're sweeter. They also don't have a ton of juice which is great to prefer the pizza from getting watery or soggy.

Margarita Pizza with a Whole Wheat
For the crust:
1 cup water
1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1. Warm water until it's just comfortable to touch before being too hot. Luke warm is too cool, boiling too hot. Sprinkle yeast into the water and let stand until foamy. 

2. While yeast is foaming, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Pour foamy yeast into the dry ingredients and mix. Add flour as necessary until dough becomes smooth, not sticky. Rub dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and rub a bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil as well. Set dough in the bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).

For the sauce:
28 oz. tomato sauce
4 oz. tomato paste
3 tablespoons Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Basil, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt + Pepper

1. In a medium pot, combine ingredients for sauce. Season wit salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer until flavors have come together, about 25-30 minutes.

For the pizza:
1 recipe of pizza dough (above)
1.5 cups of sauce (above)
15 mozzarella medallions
1/2 bunch Basil, julienne cut
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (optional)
1 tablespoons oregano (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the pizza dough to fill a rectangular baking sheet. Roll edges so they aren't draping over the sides. Spread about a cup and a half of sauce generously over the dough.

2. Top with mozzarella medallions, basil and halved cherry tomatoes. If using additional mozzarella and oregano, sprinkle over the pizza for an extra touch of cheesy goodness finishing with the oregano. 

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Let sit a minute or two before serving.