Pizza Pie with Spicy Eggplant and Roasted Peppers
Picture Dean Martin singing right to you: "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie." That'll put you in the mood. This pizza crust is outstanding--crunchy, but still slightly chewy and well worth making. But by all means, use your favorite bottled pizza or marinara sauce. For an inexpensive pizza stone, use unglazed quarry tiles to line your oven rack instead of using a baking sheet.
Ingredients
-
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
-
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
-
2 cups unbleached flour plus 1/4 cup for dusting
-
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-
1 cup cornmeal
-
1 pound eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
-
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced vertically
-
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
-
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
-
Crushed red pepper to taste
-
1 1/2 cups pizza or marinara sauce
-
6 ounces low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
-
3 ounces Romano cheese, grated
-
4 tablespoons drained capers
-
8 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
-
2 sprigs fresh oregano, finely chopped
Directions
1.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.
Dissolve yeast in water in bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour, olive oil and salt. Stir in remaining flour and cornmeal. Knead dough against side of bowl to incorporate flour. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Place dough on surface, and knead 10 minutes, or until smooth and pliable. Form into ball, and put in lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic, and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.
3.
Meanwhile, put eggplant, red onion and bell pepper on baking sheet; sprinkle with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Spray sheet and vegetables again. Roast 20 minutes, tossing after 10 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned.
4.
Punch down dough, and divide into 2 balls. Put 1 ball in bowl, and cover. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Using rolling pin, flatten other ball into 12-inch round. Place on baking sheet. Form small rim around dough edge. Top with half the sauce and cheese, and sprinkle with half the vegetables and capers. Put baking sheet in oven.
5.
Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; dust with cornmeal, and set aside.
6.
Bake about 10 minutes, top pizza with half the basil and oregano and bake 5 minutes more. Serve hot. Repeat process to make second pizza.
Nutrition information
Calories 230, Total Fat 7 g, Saturated Fat 3 g, Cholesterol 15 mg, Sodium 660 mg, Carbohydrate 30 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 10 g, Sugars 6 g
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
Add Your Review
Recommended Recipe:
Fresh Veggie Pizza
Use your favorite veggies to top this pizza. Whole wheat bread dough is used for the crust to make this a healthy meal.
See Recipe