Sharing a passion for destination pizza, CAFF (colleague and fellow foodie) recently brought to me one of his local favorites - the "Take-Me-Bake-Me" pizza by Mompops.
Mompops? I asked the same thing.
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| Click any pic to enlarge |
Mompops is a West Chester PA based company that makes no-sugar-added popsicles in lots of cool flavors. It's a healthier version of a familiar treat. Now they are also taking that "make this treat a little healthier" approach with pizza. The T-M-B-M pie is personal-size (10 inches), on a thin crust (whole wheat, multi-grain, or gluten-free) with a lot of ways to customize your pie (but apparently no meat toppings other than chicken).
CAFF tells me that "we've bought their pizzas at the Phoenixville Farmer's Market and the new Artisans market in West Chester (on Matlack Street near Rt. 202). I think they also sell at the East Goshen farmer's market on Thursday evenings."
He brought me the Margherita on a multi-grain crust. According to the TMBM website (http://mompops.net/take-me-bake-me.html), this pie has " Olive Oil, Mozzarella Cheese, Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced Tomatoes, and Fresh Basil Leaves."
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| Pie as it arrived |
The tomatoes looked a little Pink-Florida-Wintertime-Tomato-Sad, but I tasted one slice pre-bake and it had decent flavor, which is at least partly due to the seasoning of dried basil and parsley. I was entertained by the mix of both fresh and aged mozz.
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| Pre-bake, after modifications |
Of course, I doctored the pie. I removed the basil leaves to chop and add post-bake. I redistributed the cheese, because I was sharing this pie with EPBAC (Eats Pizza But Avoids Cheese). I diced up the tomato slices and added several sliced orange cherry tomatoes because they are packed with flavor. Also, because it was on hand, I added small chunks of soppressata.
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| Out of the oven, basil restored |
I baked it at 475 degrees, on a pizza stone (one day before my baking steel arrived!) for about 12 minutes, with the last two minutes under the broiler. After the bake, I added back the basil and some grated Grana Padano.
I cut it into six slices tomato-pie style (flat ends, no triangles). How was it? The crust was good, but the weakest part. It was crisp and sturdy, but it tasted "healthy." I'd prefer standard white flour for a heartier bread taste.
The rest was superb! I think the cheese was excellent quality, but the kicker may have been the herbs. In fact, seasoning is a factor I have largely ignored up to this point -- pizza ingredients often have so much flavor that I never season beyond a sprinkle of basil, cheese, and salt.
I am very intrigued, and will definitely want to use more parsley -- fresh or dried -- on future pizzas. Let's award a 5 to the crust, a 5 to the tomatoes, a 9 to the cheese, and 10 to the oil and seasoning, and a 10 to CAFF for sharing this find with me.