Grilled Pizza

I was born to love pizza…actually who isn’t??? I think since I survived solely on Indian food growing up, pizza has always been a HUGE treat. It was like eating an ice cream sundae from Dairy Queen, I swear! But I was always disappointed because we NEVER order out for pizza. We always made it at home, which was absolutely no fun. I loved the greasiness in the pizza when you get it from Pizza Hut. After going away to college, I guess this just stuck on me and I was never really keen on ordering out for pizza unless I was having absolute greasy craving (in my high metabolism days, I was able to!). So after college, I began to experiment with different types of pizzas. I now like to experiment with making pizza at home. This is my first time grilling a pizza. I must admit grilling pizzas does take perfection just like an omelet takes perfection. As sad as it is, Akhil and I NEVER order out for pizza. I would say it occurs out of desperation about once a year. I know, I am my childhood’s worse fear… no fun! But pizzas made at home ARE so much better!

This pizza was definitely a palate pleaser! I was really nervous about grilling this pizza. I didn’t know if the dough would seep into the grates and fall apart but successfully it didn’t! I think the key to it is the whole wheat dough which is tougher than all purpose flour. This crust actually turned out really good! I will be making more pizzas on the grill now!

Actually Akhil didn’t know that I made the dough and grilled it. He thought I grilled store bought flat bread! But as you see here it was a bit tough to tansfer to the grill in the nice shape I rolled out. It kind of got deformed but it still tasted good!

Grilled Pizza

Whole wheat pizza dough (recipe below)
1 yellow pepper, sliced thinly
1 small eggplant, sliced thinly in rounds
½ red onion, sliced thinly
1 zucchini, sliced thinly in rounds
2 cups shredded Manchego or Mozzarella cheese
½ cup marinara sauce

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

From All Recipes.com

1 ½ cups of warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp olive oil, and more for brushing dough
1 tsp sun dried tomato oil
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups all purpose flour

RECIPE

1. Grill all vegetables until cooked and slightly blackened.

2. In a large, Sprinkle yeast over the top of warm water, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

3. Stir the olive oil, sun dried tomato oil, sun dried tomatoes, crushed red pepper, and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

4. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball.

5. Heat up grill to medium high. Roll the dough in a square shape to fit the grill appropriately. Try not to make it to big which would make it hard to put on the grill. Put pizza on a rectangular baking pan. Drizzle the top with olive oil

6. After grill is heated, flip the dough to so the olive oiled side is on the grates. Brush the opposite side with olive oil. Grill the dough for about 5-7 minutes and then flip over.

7. Top with marinara sauce, cheese, and grilled toppings. Grill until cheese is melted – approximately 5 -7 minutes.