grilled pizza

this was a fun foodie experiment that turned out awesome! i had heard of grilled pizza sometime in the past year, and was determined to make it this summer. i was not disappointed. nice crispy pizza with a wonderful grill flavour - you can't beat it! the timing on the grill is the most difficult part, and i've typed up detailed instructions below.

• 1 batch of pizza dough
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• yellow squash
• zucchini
• green bell peppers
• red bell peppers
• marinated artichoke hearts
• mushrooms
• black olives
• banana peppers
• vegan cheese (optional)

for the pizza sauce (makes two):

• 2 small cans tomato paste
• 1/3 cup water
• onion powder
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• pinch of salt

make your sauce and dough first. the sauce is super easy and thick. for the dough... well, i'm not going to lie. i used a package mix, which is usually not my style. however, my kitchen was torn up because i'm getting new counter tops and a new sink, so there wasn't any working room and everything was covered in dust.

while your dough is resting, prep your toppings by chopping them into pizza-sized bits. put them in a vegetable grill tray and cook over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes. if you don't have a grill pan, you can create a pouch out of foil and cook them in there, but they won't have as much of the "grilled" flavour.

when your toppings are done cooking, roll out your dough into a circle or square, about 9 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. if your tough gets too thin, it will tear on the grill. put some flour on a plate and lay your dough on top. coat the top with a thin layer of olive oil - about one tablespoons worth. keep your grill on medium high heat and spray with olive oil or another nonstick spray. in one quick motion, flip your plate over so the crust lands oil-side down. while it's cooking, coat the top side with the other tablespoon of olive oil. check the bottom often for burning and flip as needed. you will likely only need to cook the crust for 1-1½ minutes on either side.


once crust has cooked, remove from grill. spread sauce, toppings and whatever cheese substitute you are using. i opted to forgo the cheese during this test run since i typically have a hard time getting it to melt. once pizzas have been assembled, carefully place them back on the grill on low heat this time. to really accentuate the grill flavor (and melt any cheese you are using), close the lid. continue to cook on low until they start to brown a little on the outside of the crust, approximately 4-5 minutes.

it may seem a little complicated for pizza, but the flavour is so worth it.