The hubby gave me a pizza oven and I have to say it’s been a blast learning how to use it. I can’t say I’ve been 100% on making pizzas – there have been a couple of unfortunate crispy critters but when I get it right, oh.my.word. is the pizza delicious. One of my favorite iterations is eggplant pizza. I make it two different ways and thanks to bountiful harvests I have lots of frozen eggplant. I freeze it two different ways; breaded and roasted with onions and garlic. This pizza used the roasted eggplant. It’s quite yummy.
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Eggplant Pizza
For the Eggplant Base:
1 lb eggplant
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 tsp salt
For the Pizza Dough:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
corn meal for sprinkling
For the Pizza:
1 cup eggplant base
1/2 cup dehydrated tomatoes rehydrated in warm water or sundried tomatoes
8 ounces fresh mozzarella
2 TBS toasted pine nuts
other toppings as desired
Make the eggplant base:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Cut the eggplant up into small pieces.
- Cut the onion up into chunks.
- Peel the garlic and if the cloves are large cut them in half.
- Add everything to a bowl and sprinkle with salt and half of the olive oil. Mix well.
- Add the vegetables to a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 30 – 45 minutes until everything is very soft and slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- Add to a food processor with the steel blade. Process until you have a thick paste.
- Add the remaining olive oil and process until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Make the Pizza Dough:
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand 1 minute or until the yeast is creamy. Stir until dissolved.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, 2 1/2 cups of the all purpose flour, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, add in more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (I did this in my KitchenAid)
- Lightly coat a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Flatten the dough with your fist. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and shape the pieces into balls dust the tops with flour. (At this point I cut the dough in half and froze one half for later use.)
- Place the balls on a floured surface and cover each with plastic wrap, allowing room for the dough to expand. Let rise 60 – 90 minutes, or until doubled.
Shape the Pizza
- When the dough is done it’s second rise you are ready to shape the pizza. I highly recommend a pizza peel. It makes moving the pizza to the oven so much easier. Sprinkle the peel with corn meal. (If you don’t have a peel I have heard of people using parchment paper. I don’t know about that method as I have never done it.)
- Thirty to sixty minutes before baking the pizza(s), place a pizza stone or unglazed quarry tiles on a rack in the lowest level of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450
- To shape the pizza, gently stretch it and let it hang from your fingertips until it is the size that you want. Do not roll the dough.
- When it is the correct size lay it on the cornmeal dusted peel.
- Spread one cup of the eggplant mixture on the dough.
- Top with the rehydrated tomatoes and then any other toppings you might want. (For the hubby I added onions and peppers and anchovies)
- The top with the mozzarella cheese.
- Carefully slide the pizza on to the hot pizza stone.
- Bake for 15 – 18 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
- Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts
- Cool for about 10 minutes before eating.
How Was the Eggplant Pizza?
This was a seriously yummy pizza. The eggplant mixture is silky and rich, the tomatoes add a hint of tart and the pine nuts give an unexpected earthy crunch. It was a really delightful combination of flavors and I am glad I put so much eggplant in the freezer so I can make this any time I like.
This eggplant mixture is delicious I have used it in other recipes like Chilean sea bass with roasted eggplant. Plus, it’s seriously good on crackers as an appetizer.
I am enjoying having the pizza oven. I can’t say that I am 100% at making pizzas in it as of yet but the ones that have come out well are much better than what I have made in the regular oven in the past.
Eggplant Pizza
a delicious pizza with an eggplant spread as a base instead of the traditional pizza sauce
- Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 58 minutes
- Yield: 1 pizza, serves 3 - 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian American
Ingredients
For the Eggplant Base:
1 lb eggplant
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 tsp salt
For the Pizza Dough:
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
corn meal for sprinkling
For the Pizza:
1 cup eggplant base
1/2 cup dehydrated tomatoes rehydrated in warm water or sundried tomatoes
8 ounces fresh mozzarella
2 TBS toasted pine nuts
other toppings as desired
Instructions
Make the eggplant base:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Cut the eggplant up into small pieces.
- Cut the onion up into chunks.
- Peel the garlic and if the cloves are large cut them in half.
- Add everything to a bowl and sprinkle with salt and half of the olive oil. Mix well.
- Add the vegetables to a baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 30 – 45 minutes until everything is very soft and slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- Add to a food processor with the steel blade. Process until you have a thick paste.
- Add the remaining olive oil and process until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Make the Pizza Dough:
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let stand 1 minute or until the yeast is creamy. Stir until dissolved.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, 2 1/2 cups of the all purpose flour, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, add in more flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (I did this in my KitchenAid)
- Lightly coat a large bowl with oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to oil the top. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Flatten the dough with your fist. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and shape the pieces into balls dust the tops with flour. (At this point I cut the dough in half and froze one half for later use.)
- Place the balls on a floured surface and cover each with plastic wrap, allowing room for the dough to expand. Let rise 60 – 90 minutes, or until doubled.
- When the dough is done it’s second rise you are ready to shape the pizza. I highly recommend a pizza peel. It makes moving the pizza to the oven so much easier. Sprinkle the peel with corn meal. (If you don’t have a peel I have heard of people using parchment paper. I don’t know about that method as I have never done it.)
- Thirty to sixty minutes before baking the pizza(s), place a pizza stone or unglazed quarry tiles on a rack in the lowest level of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450
- To shape the pizza, gently stretch it and let it hang from your fingertips until it is the size that you want. Do not roll the dough.
- When it is the correct size lay it on the cornmeal dusted peel.
- Spread one cup of the eggplant mixture on the dough.
- Top with the rehydrated tomatoes and then any other toppings you might want.
- The top with the mozzarella cheese.
- Carefully slide the pizza on to the hot pizza stone.
- Bake for 15 – 18 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
- Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts
- Cool for about 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
prep time includes rising time
yield assumes only making one pizza even though the dough recipe makes enough for two
Keywords: pizza, homemade pizza, eggplant pizza, pizza oven
