You'll love my Southern Style Pizza with pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, bacon and arugula! Change up the flavors for an extra special weeknight meal!
Living in Florida has me thinking in technicolor and my Southern Style Pizza is definitely a product of that style of thinking. Of course working with bacon is never difficult, there are so many options……
My friends at Tyson Foods asked me to cook up some deliciousness for you and have kindly sponsored this post. All of the opinions, images and text are 100% mine
Oh, Bacon, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways….
In salads, sandwiches and pasta. On pizza, in cocktails and dessert. Wrapped around seafood, steaks and in omelets……..sigh. For breakfast, lunch or dinner…..whatever the meal, bacon makes it better! I think bacon should be classified as a Superfood because it goes with everything! What’s your favorite way to use bacon?
Let’s get our mise en place together to build this delicious Southern Style Pizza! I used Apple Wood Bacon, but you can cook up some deliciousness with your favorite bacon.
The secret to a really delicious pizza is to season the crust well before you bake it. After you stretch your pizza dough out and shape a circle as best you can, brush the dough with olive oil and then sprinkle the seasoning mixture generously over the entire dough.
Bake the dough for 7-10 minutes at 350 until its almost done and beginning to get a brown color. Then you add your ingredients and pop it back into the oven for 5 more minutes. After the Southern Style Pizza comes out of the oven, slice it and top with a handful of baby arugula. I love adding additional color, texture and flavor to a dish when serving and the arugula add just the right balance to the pie.
This technique will work with just about any topping and turn out an amazingly delicious pizza. And trust me with those seasonings on the crust, everyone will finish every last bite!
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Southern Style Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough store bought or homemade
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pizza crust seasoning see below
- 4 ounces pimento cheese
- 4 slices Wright® Brand Bacon cooked and chopped
- 2 green tomatoes
- 1 red plum tomato sliced
- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon egg whipped with one of water added
- bacon fat to fry tomatoes or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup shedded mozzarella
- 1 handful baby arugula
Pizza Crust Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dry basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- preheat oven to 450 degrees
- place bacon on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bacon is crispy
- remove bacon from pan and drain well on paper towels. Save bacon green to fry tomatoes
- Slice green tomato into 1/4 inch slices and dip in seasoned flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Make sure to completely coat the entire slice. Dip in egg and bread crumbs again if necessary.
- Fry breaded tomato slices in bacon fat until nicely browned on both sides, allow to drain on paper towels.
- Work dough into a circle on a floured surface. Don't worry if it doesn't come out perfectly round, its a homemade pizza. Just tell everyone its rustic.
- Brush entire dough with olive oil, then sprinkle the seasoning mixture generously over the entire dough.
- Bake at 450 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until dough has begun turning brown.
- Remove dough from oven and carefully spoon 2/3 of the pimento cheese onto the dough, spreading it out slightly.
- Arrange fried green tomatoes on top of cheese, leaving room in between for slices of red tomatoes.
- Place sliced roma tomatoes in between the fried green tomatoes.
- Spoon remainder of pimento cheese on top of fried green tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with chopped bacon and shredded mozzarella cheese and place back into the oven for 5 minutes or until crust gets nicely brown and cheese has melted.
- Remove from oven, and slice.
- Top with handful of arugula and serve.
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