21 March 2009

Zucchini and Mushroom Pizza On The Grill

One thing we love to do is make pizzas on the outdoor grill. Makes the crust taste delicious.

The crust is the main thing, the toppings are the creative thing.

Crust Ingredients

3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. yeast
pinch of sugar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt


Add the yeast to the water in the mixer bowl. Add a pinch of sugar to feed the yeastie beasties. Let it sit for 15 min. or so. Add two cups of the flour to the water. Using the whisk attachment mix thoroughly. Let this sit in the bowl, covered for 45 min. to an hour. Add the rest of the white plus the whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt, and mix with the dough hook attachment for a few minutes. Knead by hand until it feels smooth. Place in oiled bowl and let rise for 2 hours or until double in size. Punch down and then divide into 4 pieces, shape into balls and let rise until double in size. Once risen, shape into four flat rough circles in any way you want. They are prettier if they are not perfect (like so many of us).

Now the fun part. Slide those babies gently but directly onto the grill (make sure its a very hot grill). They firm up quick. Let them develop some grill marks and then flip and cook a little more to finish them up. Remove from the grill.

Topping Ingredients

1 med. Zucchini
1 lbs. sliced mushrooms
Shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh oregano
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme
olive oil
salt/pepper
tomato sauce

Slice the zucchini very very thinly. A mandoline is helpful for this.
Saute the mushrooms in some olive oil with a little salt and pepper until they are completely cooked and their water has evaporated.

Assembly and Finish

Paint each crust with a thin layer of tomato paste.
Lay zuchini around the edges like in the photo or as you please.
Fill the center with herbs.
Cover the centers with mushrooms.
Top with as much cheese as you like.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and a few grinds of pepper.

Put the pizzas back on the grill to cook the toppings (i like to lay them on a pizza stone on the grill to keep the bottoms from over cooking).

Enjoy!

Namaste.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Which, or would all, of the trinity be able to eat pizza ...

Unknown said...

I think they eat it if they choose to do so!! And believe me its so good, they would!