Roasted Tomato Pizza with Ricotta and Asiago Cheese

Roasted Tomato Pizza with Ricotta and Asiago Cheese

For the roasted tomatoes

3 Roma tomatoes, halved
1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the pizza

cornmeal, for dusting
16 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough (I used our favorite recipe)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
season with salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shaved Asiago cheese
1/3 cup torn fresh basil leaves

To prepare the tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange tomatoes, cut side up, onto a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with sugar. Place into the oven and bake until the tomatoes are soft and haven crinkled around the edges, about 1 hour. Remove and set aside to cool.

To prepare the pizza

Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees with a pizza stone placed on the lowest rack.

Sprinkle enough cornmeal to lightly cover a pizza peel. Stretch and roll out dough to a rough 12" to 13" circle and transfer to the cornmeal-dusted peel. Form a 1/2" rim around the edges of the dough. Slide the crust onto the stone and cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and place the crust onto a wire rack. Brush crust with 1 tablespoon oil.

Coarsely chopped cooled tomatoes. Scatter tomatoes evenly over top of crust. Drop small dollops of the ricotta all over the top, then season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Scatter with shaved Asiago. Slide pizza back onto the stone and bake until the crust has finished cooking through and the cheese has melted, about 8 to 12 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool slightly - top with basil just before serving.

Makes about 4 servings.

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