Crispy, but doughy, slightly sweet, supremely cheese — This fresh tomato pizza pie recipe is not to be missed. Bake it on a pizza stone for best results.

Friday night is pizza night in our house. Some weeks, it’s take-out from a favorite spot. Some weeks, it’s whatever we can get delivered. But the best weeks are those that we all gather around the kitchen island and make pizza together.

Over pizza dough — sometimes we spread it ourselves, sometimes we get premade shells — we spend time together, learning little bits about each other and transferring little bits of knowledge.

It’s via making pizza that I learned my son, Will, doesn’t know how to spread dough (he’ll learn!). It’s where my kids discovered that I like pizza piled high with as many vegetables as I can get on there. And it’s through making pizza that my kids have learned a little more about feeding themselves.

This recipe is for a Fresh Tomato Pizza Pie. It’s one that we all enjoy. As fresh tomatoes come into season, I hope you will too.

How to make Fresh Tomato Pizza Pie

This fresh tomato pizza has only a few simple ingredients. You might even have most of them already. Here’s how to make it:

Start by preparing the pizza peel (sprinkle it with cornmeal or flour, though I prefer cornmeal). It should be well-prepped to avoid sticking.

Next, it’s time to spread the pizza dough. I do this partially by hand and partially with a rolling pin. Poke it all over with a fork and brush with olive oil.

Now, onto the tomatoes. This is a fresh tomato pizza pie, so there’s no sauce. Instead, dice up a big, juicy heirloom tomato or several handfuls of cherry tomatoes or a few plum tomatoes. The flavor will shift slightly with the variety of tomatoes you use.

Thinly slice up some fresh mozzarella and spread it all over the pizza. Also sprinkle some parmesan on top. Together, these cheeses give the pizza complexity.

Now, it’s ready to bake. Slide that baby onto a hot pizza stone. The crust will rise. The tomatoes will cook down. The cheese will melt. And when it comes out, it will have a crisp but doughy crust, slightly sweet tomatoes and a perfect amount of cheesiness.

Now, who’s ready to dig in? This fresh tomato pizza pie is begging to be eaten.

Fresh Tomato Pizza

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 ball pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground pepper, salt and garlic powder
1½ cup fresh diced tomato
4-5 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella, chopped
⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
dried oregano

Instructions

Preheat a pizza stone in an oven set to 500 degrees for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, dust the dough with flour and prepare a surface (a cutting board or pizza paddle) to work. I usually dust the surface with cornmeal but flour works too. Work the dough into a round disk -- about 15-inches in diameter. Place on the prepared surface. Stab the dough all over with the fork and then brush with olive oil.
Sprinkle the dough with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Spread the tomatoes all over the prepared dough. Top with mozzarella and then parmesan. Sprinkle with oregano, as desired.
Transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone.
Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until golden. Remove the pizza from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting with a pizza cutter.