Tomato-and-Corn Pizza

I ran across this recipe in the latest edition of Southern Living magazine, and I thought it looked like a nice, summery twist for pizza. I had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to make this for lunch today. Normally, I don't follow recipes (unless I'm baking, of course). I think recipes are too tedious, and I hate being tied to one. If I do use a recipe, I usually end up changing or tweaking at least one thing. This pizza recipe was no different. Instead of a packaged pizza crust, I used homemade pizza dough. Packaged pizza crusts are gross. There. I said it. You know you were thinking it. I've tried different brands, and I'm always disappointed. So I've given up on them. I also decided to make a quick pizza sauce to use along with the pesto. I love pesto, but too much of it can be a bad thing. So, instead of 1/3 cup of pesto, I used approximately 2 tablespoons. I spread the pizza sauce on top of the dough and then the pesto on top of that. You could also mix the two together before spreading it on the dough/crust if you wanted. I thought that the two together were delicious, and I was glad that I didn't use straight pesto. I think it would have overpowered everything else. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. The pizza baked for around 12 minutes (at 550 degrees), so it was a nice, quick after-church lunch. It tasted great, too! I loved the sweetness of the corn with the taste of the tomatoes and pesto. We will definitely be having this again sometime very soon!

Ingredients

• 3 small plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust
• Parchment paper
• 1/3 cup refrigerated pesto
• 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh whole or torn basil leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place tomato slices on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; let stand 20 minutes.

2. Place pizza crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; spread with pesto. Stir together corn, Parmesan, and sugar. Top pizza with corn mixture, tomatoes, and mozzarella slices.

3. Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. Remove from oven, and top with basil leaves.