Get it — Meg-herita? I’m a total dork, I know. But this pizza is worth geeking out over, trust me. I’ve become mildly famous (among my friends, at least) over this mouthwatering revision of the classic Italian Margherita. For the crust, I love 101 Cookbooks’ fantastic Neapolitan-style recipe, but it takes too long for this to be an everyday type of dinner. I often just use ready-made dough from Trader Joe’s; if you use plenty of olive oil (not flour) to work the dough, you’ll get an AMAZING crust. Instead of using a sauce, this pie gets it going with nothing more than thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes. (I find the best tasting ones are the ugliest — the ones with mottled color, deformed shapes, cracks and splits.) Top the tomatoes with goat cheese, pecorino, crumbled bacon and fragrant ribbons of fresh basil, and you’ve got something simple AND special — and isn’t that what home cooking should be all about? — Megan B. Click for Meg-herita!

Meg-herita Pizza
Serves 4-6

1 lb ball of pizza dough at room temperature
2 small heirloom tomatoes (approx 1/3 lb), sliced 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
3 tbs freshly grated pecorino romano (or more to taste)
2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 small bunch of basil, cut into ribbons
olive oil for working the dough and drizzling
kosher salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 F. Pour about 2 tbs olive oil onto a cutting board, then spread it around with your hands. Drop the dough onto the well oiled surface. Drizzle a touch more oil on top of the dough. Rub oil into the dough by hand, making sure dough is evenly coated on all sides.

Stretch the dough out to a 16″ diameter round (or whatever abstract shape you can) and transfer to a well oiled baking sheet. (If using a baking stone, transfer to a or pizza peel coated with cornmeal.) Lay down tomato slices in a single layer, making sure most of the crust is covered. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt, top with crumbled goat cheese, pecorino, and bacon.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is soft. Transfer to a cutting board and top with freshly ground black pepper and basil ribbons.