Grilled Pizza with Eggplant, Green Olives and Provolone

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I love pizza but no one loves pizza more than my mom!  We had pizza every Friday night growing up and my mom is always on the hunt for a yummy pizza pie.  So when I knew that she was going to be visiting, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to try out pizza on the grill!  I had seen this recipe in August’s Gourmet and thought it looked delicious.

I had some pizza dough from Trader Joe’s in the freezer so I used that.  I am not very good at rolling dough of any sort so my pizza was a little oddly shaped.  I used some Sicilian green olives I had in the fridge, baby eggplant, and grated provolone.

I was terrified that the dough would stick to the grill.  But oiling the dough and the grates made it very easy to get the pizza off the grill.  Tongs and a large spatula are musts just given the awkward shape of the pizza.   The dough cooks up very quickly on the hot grill — really only a couple of minutes are needed!

The eggplant, olives and provolone were a great combo and the garlic oil used on the dough and the eggplant added some nice flavor as well.

Now that I know how easy it is to grill pizza, I’ll be doing this more often!

Eggplant, Green Olive, and Provolone Pizza
Gourmet Magazaine

  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/4 pound eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 pound store-bought pizza dough at room temperature
  • 5 ounces sliced provolone, cut into short thin matchsticks (1 1/4 cups)
  • 18 pitted green olives, coarsely chopped (1/3 cup)
  • 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Prepare a gas grill for direct-heat cooking over medium heat.

Stir together garlic and oil. Brush some of garlic oil on both sides of eggplant and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill, covered, turning once, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes total. Cut into roughly 1-inch pieces.

Stretch dough into about a 12- by 10-inch rectangle on a large baking sheet and lightly brush with garlic oil. Oil grill rack, then put dough, oiled side down, on grill. Brush top with more garlic oil. Grill, covered, until underside is golden-brown, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes.

Using tongs, return crust, grilled side up, to baking sheet. Scatter eggplant, cheese, olives, and parsley over crust. Slide pizza from sheet onto grill and grill, covered, until underside is golden-brown and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes.



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