A simple pizza margherita

Here is the archetype of a thin-crust pizza pie, a pizza margherita adorned simply in the colors of the Italian flag: green from basil, white from mozzarella, red from tomato sauce. This pizza is adapted from the recipe used by the staff at Roberta’s restaurant in Brooklyn, who make their tomato sauce simply by whizzing together canned tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. The ingredients offer in their proportions what appears to be a kind of austerity — not even 3 ounces of cheese! But the result is home-cooked pizza to beat the band, exactly the sort of recipe to start a career in home pizza-making, and to return to again and again.

Pizza Margherita

Recipe from Carlo Mirarchi, Brandon Hoy, Chris Parachini and Katherine Wheelock, Adapted by Sam Sifton

Ingredients:

• 1 12-inch round of pizza dough, stretched (see recipe)

• 3 tablespoons tomato sauce (see note)

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 3/4 ounces fresh mozzarella

• 4 to 5 basil leaves, roughly torn

Directions:

Place a pizza stone or tiles on the middle rack of your oven and turn heat to its highest setting. Let it heat for at least an hour.

Put the sauce in the center of the stretched dough and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly across the surface, stopping approximately 1/2 inch from the edges.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the pie. Break the cheese into large pieces and place these gently on the sauce. Scatter basil leaves over the top.

Using a pizza peel, pick up the pie and slide it onto the heated stone or tiles in the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, approximately 4 to 8 minutes.

Total time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour to heat oven, serves 2.

Tip:

In a food processor, whiz together whole, drained canned tomatoes, a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Keep leftover sauce refrigerated.