I’ve been eyeing the “Love & Lemons” cookbook for a while but I never wanted to shell out the money for it. Then Prime Day happened and the cookbook was marked down to $10, so I finally took the plunge.

“Love & Lemons” is going to become a kitchen staple for me. I flipped through the pages and dog-eared a bunch of recipes including this one for peach pita pizzas. I went shopping for the ingredients on Saturday and made it for my mom and my sister that night for dinner.

Jeanine Donofrio, the cookbook author, is all about using fresh, seasonal ingredients. I tend to agree. She says at one point in the cookbook that finding the best ingredients at a farmers’ market will elevate a dish, and she’s right. I found most of the ingredients for this pizza at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market and it made a huge difference. It took a dish that could have been somewhat bland and elevated it to gourmet.

This pizza is a great weekday lunch or dinner, or it could be a deceptively impressive party dish. It comes together quickly, makes the most of seasonal ingredients, and tastes delicious.

If you’re not a fan of of feta, you can swap in another cheese such as goat cheese. I bet the pizza would also be good with some homemade salsa or pesto on top.

A word to the wise: You want your zucchini to be very, very thin. I think this is best achieved with a mandoline, but I don’t own one because of a traumatizing finger incident a few years ago. I’m still trying to work through that trauma so hopefully soon, I can get back to using mandolines. Until then I’m just using a sharp knife and doing the best I can.

ANYWAY. Make these pizzas as soon as possible. As I said before, it helps to have the freshest ingredients you can find. The pizzas are basically little canvases for the artwork of summer, i.e., squash, tomatoes, and stone fruits.

Here’s a song to get you started on your pizza-making journey.

Peach Pita Pizzas (from “Love & Lemons”)

Ingredients

4 pieces of pita bread or naan
1 cup (250 mL) shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced into coins
8 squash blossoms
1/2 cup (125 mL) halved cherry tomatoes
3 ripe peaches, sliced into segments
1/2 cup (125 mL) crumbled feta cheese
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
fresh herbs (a few basil or oregano leaves)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) red pepper flakes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Assemble the pita bread or naan with the white cheddar cheese, zucchini, squash blossoms, cherry tomatoes, peaches, and feta cheese. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the peaches and zucchini are tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the fresh herbs and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.