BLT Pizza with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes

If being obsessed with CARAMELIZED CHERRY TOMATOES is wrong, I don't want to be right!

Especially if I can make this amazing pizza with the little red jewels!


Have you been paying attention?  


First, I made pizza dough... Pizza Napoletana - Bread Baker's Apprentice #11


Kept a few in the freezer awaiting my inspiration...


And I got that inspiration when I made BLT Spaghetti with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes.  


I mean if this stuff tastes great with spaghetti, just imagine a pizza, add some gooey fresh mozzarella and you really have a winner!


But first, I need to remind you of my dream...

BLT Quiche with Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes & Swiss & Feta Cheese.

I mean really... An absolutely amazing breakfast.

So, have you been reading my posts last few days???

Can you bear with my obsession for another post???  Have I gotten to the stage of convincing you that I have found something really good, or are you just enabling me and my addiction???

Read on, and let's see if you may just get an uncontrollable urge to caramelize some tomatoes...

Take a second and reread my original post on the BLT Spaghetti (click HERE).  I went into great detail, with lots of photos to illustrate the way to make the basic.  Here's a short version of the recipe to jog your memory if you have already read the post...

4 strip Bacon, save the drippings, crumble the bacon
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 cup thinly sliced Sweet Onions (Vidalia if possible)
1/4 cup dry White Wine
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
4 ounces Spaghetti
1 cup Spinach Leaves
1 TBS mixed Italian Herbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook the Bacon in a large non-stick pan.  You are going to use this pan for the rest of the recipe, so don't be cheap on the size of the pan.  Discard all but 1 TBS of the drippings.

Add the tomatoes to the bacon drippings, sprinkle the sugar on top and sauté for about 5 minutes.  At the end of 5 minutes, you will see the tomatoes start to brown.  Now, add the onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.De-glaze the pan with the white wine.  Continue simmering till the wine is reduced by half.  Then add the vinegar and chicken stock and again stir and simmer till the liquid is again reduced by half.

Remove from the heat... Add the herbs and mix well.  Whatever you have fresh, oregano, thyme, rosemary, even dill or parsley.  Add the crumbled bacon, and allow to completely cool.

And while the Caramelized Tomatoes and Onions are cooling, let's start working on the pizza portion...

Like I said, I had some pizza dough already made up (click HERE for my recipe from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" book.  It is a terrific dough, but feel free to use your favorite, or even a ready made crust...

Once you have thawed the frozen dough, or made your own fresh or bought ready made, spread onto a pizza stone, or if you have to (like me, with all those goodies back in Kansas), use a cookie sheet...

I put down a layer of raw de-stemmed spinach (the L in BLT... shh, I am cheating a little).  I also had some fresh marinated mozzarella that I sliced thin.and put a layer of that on top of the spinach...

And now, add the caramelized cherry tomatoes and onions...

Topped the tomatoes with the bacon...

I had a little bit more mozzarella, and some freshly grated Parmesan cheeses that i topped the bacon 'za with.

400 degrees, took about 40 minutes, but I kept opening the oven door to check the melted cheese, I knew the look I was after.  If you can resist opening the door, it should only take 30 to 35 minutes...

Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes... Spread the gospel!!!