Using tomatoes instead of pizza sauce

[Labradors2]

I cannot believe it has taken me so long to try this, but finally I put a layer of fresh tomato slices on the bottom of my pizza dough instead of using pizza sauce and it was DELICIOUS .

I am thinking of freezing some tomato slices in baggies for winter pizzas. Does anyone have any tips on how to do that. Waxed paper to keep the slices separate perhaps???

Linda

[imp]

Laying them out on wax paper on a sheet pan to freeze flat then using wax paper to keep separate may work; only thing with freezing them is when thawed the tomato piece will release a lot of "water" as the cells are ruptured by freezing, so your pizza may be a bit wet?


Can you dry your slices and then reconstitute them?

[Worth1]

Freezing ain't gonna happen in a regular freezer.
You would need something like liquid nitrogen to flash freeze them and I dont even know if that would work.
The idea/fact behind this is there is less time for ice crystals to grow and form which in turn stops them from breaking down the cell walls releasing water.
The best ice cream is the stuff that is frozen as fast as it can.
But dont trust me, try it with a few slices and see what happens.

[Rockandrollin]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I cannot believe it has taken me so long to try this, but finally I put a layer of fresh tomato slices on the bottom of my pizza dough instead of using pizza sauce and it was DELICIOUS .



Linda

Bravo! I'm with ya on the tomato and pizza thing!

This is my variation of your idea:
We make mod style pizzas on the pellet BBQ.
First BBQ chicken breasts and then cut them into chunks.
At this point, my wife and daughters stick to a Italian theme for their pizzas.

Mine is as follows:
Add the chicken on top of precooked naan flat bread
Add a good amount of Sweet Baby Ray's sweet and spicy BBQ sauce
add sliced tomatoes that are cut into strips
add 2 diced up jalapenos
add grated cheese (also acts as pizza topping glue)
add some sliced olives

Cook on BBQ for 10 min. Yum!

[Labradors2]

You're right guys. Freezing is going to make them soggy, although somebody told me that she did use frozen tomato pieces on her pizzas. Perhaps if I only use paste tomatoes, and discard any pulp..... I do have a dehydrator, but then they are going to be too dry!

Back to the drawing board.....

Linda

[Labradors2]

That chicken pizza sounds delish Rockandrollin

Linda

[imp]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

You're right guys. Freezing is going to make them soggy, although somebody told me that she did use frozen tomato pieces on her pizzas. Perhaps if I only use paste tomatoes, and discard any pulp..... I do have a dehydrator, but then they are going to be too dry!

Back to the drawing board.....

Linda

With the dried tomatoes, you can reconstitute them to any degree you wish them to be, plus use other things besides plain water; a red wine is good, depending on what the use for the tomato slices are going to be put to in the end.

[Labradors2]

Thanks Imp. A red wine soak sounds like a plan .

Linda

[kurt]

We split pita bread,olive oil the insides slice some maters real thin,add your favorite cheese on top,we like the buffalo cheeses.Bake in small toaster oven.Trick we learned from a visiting nephew who does this in his dorm room.Great little snacks for two.

[imp]

Tou're welcome. Those wine soaked dried tomatoes are also good on a mixed salad, LOL, we used them that way long ago when I still lived in northern California.

[Old chef]

Hello
Congratulations. Fresh tomatoes on pizza work wonderful. Cherries can be used also. Cut in 4.
Unfortunately frozen tomatoes won't work. They are just mush
Old chef

[bower]

I use frozen tomatoes all winter. Baked many pizzas with those.


Freezing slices is no good they won't keep as well and will be impossible to keep intact while handling. The trick is to freeze them whole, and to give them a minimum of thawing, just enough to make them easy to slice thinly and put on your pizza. I use them as toppings.



If you cut them too thick you can make it soggy, of course. Done that.



This is one reason I've come to prefer medium to smaller fruit, because they are easier to slice up when frozen. I just throw a handful of shapes and colors into a bag, label 'Pizza toppers' and toss into the deep freeze.

[Labradors2]

Yeah! Thanks for the info Bower. Gonna try that! I have some perfect Marzano Fire paste tomatoes to save just for pizzas .


Linda

[bower]

I tried drying tomatoes one year. In dehydrator, warm air, but they just wouldn't dry completely. It was days of running the machine and in the end, read they should not be totally dry so I packed them up in a less-than-crispy condition... But then I found out, you still have to freeze the darn things or they will spoil . Yes, some of them got moldy and that really was the last straw on a process that just didn't work for me.

[Labradors2]

True. Those round dehydrators take forever to dry things. I splurged on an Excaliber, and it does an excellent job, but I still freeze my dehydrated 'maters just to be safe, as I can never tell if they are completely dry.

Linda