herbaceous eggplant pizza

Herbaceous Eggplant Pizza

There comes a time when food from the garden finally comes in and you feel the need to get creative with your harvest. This recipe stems from that. I needed to use eggplant and tomatoes before they went bad, so I naturally did what any red-blooded American living in the south would do. I made a fancy vegetarian pizza. This, like any recipe that involves fresh dough, can take a while. I tend to do these types of recipes when I plan ahead of time. That way I have some dough prepped ahead of time for a variety of applications.
( I don't have a picture for this one, but trust me, its good)

Ingredients:
Dough:
see basic pizza dough recipe.
1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
2 tsp. of dried basil or Italian herbs mix

Toppings:
1 small to medium eggplant
1 -2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
2/3 cup of shredded cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 TBS. of olive oil
1/2 tsp. of basil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup of water
1/3 tsp. of white vinegar
3-4 TBS of za'ahtar
1/2 cup of finely chopped basil or 1 package or McCormick's bruschetta spice mix
1/2 tsp of cane sugar
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

Following the previously stated dough instructions, prepare the dough. Place the dough in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes to rest. While its cooling start on the veggies. Grilling the eggplant brings out the best flavor but its messier and can be time consuming. A good alternative is to sauté it on the stovetop. Slice the eggplant, skin on, in thin slices. Dice the onion as well. Warm up the pan to medium high heat, and place the eggplant and onion in it. Allow the onion and eggplant soften up for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the olive oil, stirring so that the oil evenly coats the veggies. After another 5-8 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, and check the veggies. Once the water is absorbed or evaporated add the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Let it continue to cook for a few more minutes, then shut off the heat.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out as thin as possible without tearing it or making it unsuitable for transfer to the oven.

Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl and pour 3/4 of the contents onto the pizza, spreading it out evenly. Add the veggies from the pan and diced tomatoes to the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese on top and then gently sprinkle the remaining sauce on top.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and if the pizza was rolled thin it should be done in 15-18 minutes with a crispy texture.

Eat and enjoy!!