The inspiration for this recipe came from an awesome pizzeria and italian restaurant in Westmont, NJ called Treno. It’s a very hip, trendy bar and restaurant with specialty wood fired pizzas. On my first trip there, I went with the basics and had a pizza a knew I’d enjoy – a wonderfully traditional Margarita pizza with fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil and sea salt. The second time around, I decided to be a bit more adventurous and got the Smoked Mozzarella with pesto and oven roasted tomatoes. (It was a special that week)
When I got home, the variation I made was similar, but with a couple added items. It wasn’t better or worse – just different. So follow my basic pizza recipe and instructions, but instead of sauce, top your pie with the ingredients below. Hope you enjoy!!!
Ingredients
- Oven roasted tomatoes (click link for instructions)
- Smoked Mozzarella
- Pesto (fresh is preferred, but jared will be fine)
- Ricotta filling from manicotti
- Fresh pepper & salt to taste
- Shredded cheese (optional)
Instructions
Follow my basic pizza dough recipe from my HOME MADE PIZZA link. Once your dough has been tossed, arrange a single layer of smoked mozzarella. Top with a sprinkling of pesto, & chopped roasted tomatoes. You could end here with just a quick grind of fresh pepper and some sea salt. I had some manicotti filling in the fridge from when my friend made it the other day, so I put some small drops of the filling around the pizza and filled in any bare spots with some italian 4 cheese blend. Through it in the oven for about 4-7 minutes at 500-525F and you will have a delicious dinner that feels like something you’d get during a night out on the town!
