Pizza #2: A splash of summer on a rainy day

Pizza #2: Mozzarella, roma tomatoes and castelvetrano olives

 

Castelvetranos are grown exclusively in western Sicily, near the town of (what else?) Castelvetrano. The olives are harvested young and cured in lightly salted brine, keeping their color a bright green. Meaty in texture, they have a mild flavor that combines sweet and salty. It’s this mild flavor that makes them so wonderful.  Even olive haters have been know to enjoy these delicious morsels.  

I discovered castlevetrano olives over a year ago, and have become a staple in my fridge.  If you’ve never tasted them, head to whole foods and pick some up now. Trust me.

And 9 olives are only 40 calories, so they make a delicious healthy snack.

I had canned roma tomatoes from last summer, but I do feel the need to talk tomatoes for a moment. 

Roma tomatoes are plum shaped, and should feel heavy for their size. Good-quality tomatoes will be firm, smooth-skinned and be at least pink in color. Tomatoes that are partially green will ripen if left at room temperature. With their dense and meaty flesh, low moisture content, and few seeds they are the ideal tomatoes for processing into sauces and pastes.

Unripe tomatoes should be stored out of direct sunlight at room temperature until ripe for 3 or 4 days. Once ripe, tomatoes should be used within a day or two. Please don’t put them in the fridge. Please. I beg you. 

This pizza was a bright spot on an otherwise dreary rainy day on the east coast.

There is something very special about eating summer tomatoes in winter. 

It can really change your day. At least it did for me.