WHB - Oregano

Filed in archive Food Blogosphere , Recipes on April 5, 2008

Homemade pizza is a wonderful thing.
The dough is a perfect crispness, the toppings are as minimal or numerous as you want and the sauce can be as mild or as spicy as you like.



While munching away on a square of sausage, onion and mozzarella pizza that I made earlier this week I decided to write about the herb oregano for Weekend Herb Blogging.

Oregano is the quintessential pizza sauce herb. Yes, basil is good too, but when I think pizza, I think oregano. This aromatic and slightly bitter herb is often more flavorful when dried, so it is always in season in my kitchen!

Oregano is native to northern Europe, although it grows throughout many regions of the world. It has been recognized for its aromatic properties since ancient times, with the Greeks and Romans holding oregano as a symbol of joy and happiness. In fact, it was a tradition for Greek and Roman brides and grooms to be crowned with a laurel of oregano.
Oregano has been cultivated in France since the Middle Ages and has come to be an important herb in Mediterranean cooking. Oregano was hardly known in the United States until the early 20th century when GIs returning from Italy brought word of this fragrant and delicious herb back to the United States.

Source WHFoods.com



This week WHB has come back around to its brilliant creator, Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen. Kalyn will have the complete Weekend Herb Blogging round-up on her site this Monday.

Pizza is easy! Knead some dough, make your sauce and choose your toppings. There's nothing like that first, satisfying and scrumptious bite of homemade pizza.

My Pizza Sauce
makes enough for one pie

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and left whole
1- 14 oz. can whole, peeled Italian tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
pinch dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Warm the whole cloves of garlic in the olive oil until they turn a nice, golden color.
While the garlic is browning, pour the tomatoes into a bowl and crush them into little bits using clean hands.
Add the tomatoes to the browned garlic and olive oil.
Add the oregano, salt and sugar and optional red pepper flakes, give it a good stir and simmer, uncovered, on low heat for about 30 minutes until it has thickened.