History

Mahasti Vafaie opened The Tomato Head on Market Square in 1990 and named the signature pie after herself, the pizza topped with house pesto, feta, sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. The Persian-American counter has run pizza, sandwiches and salads on Market Square ever since, making it downtown Knoxville's longest-running independent restaurant and a Market Square Saturday-morning landmark for two generations of regulars.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 ball pizza dough, 12 oz
  • 1/3 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • Handful of fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • Coarse sea salt

Method

  1. Bring the dough to room temperature, about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 500 F with a pizza stone on the bottom rack.
  2. Stretch the dough on a floured pizza peel to a 12-inch round about 1/4 inch thick.
  3. Spread the sun-dried tomato pesto across the dough leaving a 1-inch border.
  4. Arrange fresh mozzarella slices over the pesto. Scatter parmesan over the top.
  5. Slide onto the hot stone and bake 8 to 10 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese bubbles.
  6. Pull the pizza, scatter fresh basil leaves, drizzle olive oil, season with sea salt and red pepper flakes.

Tip from the editors. Sun-dried tomato pesto is the signature; make it with sun-dried tomatoes in oil, garlic, parmesan and olive oil if you can't find it premade.

Where to eat the mahasti pizza

The Mahasti Pizza in Knoxville

The Tomato Head ★ 4.5

Pizza$$market-squareTue-Thu 11:00-21:00; Fri-Sat 11:00-22:00; Sun 11:00-21:00; closed Mon

The Tomato Head on Market Square, Mahasti Vafaie's Persian-American pizza counter since 1990, is downtown Knoxville's longest-running independent restaurant.

Signature: Mahasti pizza, Veggie sandwich

Order: The Mahasti pizza with the sun-dried tomato pesto, or the veggie sandwich at lunch.

Tip: Weekend brunch runs 11:00-15:00; happy hour Sunday to Thursday from 16:00-18:00 for slices.

12 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902

The Tomato Head Bearden ★ 4.4

Pizza$$beardenTue-Thu 11:00-20:30; Fri 11:00-21:00; Sat 10:00-21:00; Sun 10:00-20:30; closed Mon

The Tomato Head Bearden on Kingston Pike at Gallery Shopping Center, Mahasti Vafaie's West Knoxville arm of the Market Square original, runs the same pizza.

Signature: Mahasti pizza, Veggie sandwich

Order: Same Mahasti pizza pesto build that runs at Market Square.

Tip: Bearden opens 10:00 on Saturdays for brunch; the Kingston Pike location is reliably easier than downtown on weekends.

7240 Kingston Pike #172, Knoxville, TN 37919

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