Recipe: Filled Pizza

FILLED PIZZA

Dough
1 envelope dry active yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 C. lukewarm water
2 3/4 C. flour
2 T. vegetable oil

Sprinkle yeast on warm water, letting stand until dissolved. Add oil, salt and 1/2 of the flour, beating well. Gradually add more flour to form a soft dough. Turn out dough on a floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1/ hours) or refrigerate overnight to rise.

Sauce
3 lb. plum tomatoes, chopped, or
2 T. olive oil and 1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes
Oregano, to taste
3 oz. tomato paste
Basil, to taste
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Parsley, to taste

Combine first 4 ingredients and simmer until thick, about 20 minutes, stirring often. * Add herbs.

Filling
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 C. onion, sliced
2 C. (8 oz.) mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 C. green bell peppers, sliced
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

Punch down dough and turn out on a floured board. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger for the bottom. Roll larger portion out to fit a 12-inch round and 1-inch deep pizza pan with a slight overhang.

Spread bottom with mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the mushrooms, 1/2 of the green peppers and garlic. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Roll out the other portion of dough and cover, folding in the edges with the bottom crust, pinching to make a standing rim. Bake in a preheated 450 F oven on the bottom rack for 7 minutes.

Remove from oven. Add tomato sauce, remaining mushrooms and vegetables. Sprinkle with the herbs and garlic. Return to oven, reducing heat to 400 F and bake an additional 25 minutes until brown and set. If edges turn brown first, cover with foil.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.