Gilled Pizzas

This was a really fun way to make pizza without heating up our house. In fact, it turned into more than just dinner- but a family activity. I used the leftover vegetables from the kabobs the other night for our topping as well as some sliced linguica and some turkey sausage (Portugese sausage- it's a delicacy around here!) I had the vegetables all chopped up and ready to go as well as the sauce, meat and cheese so as the crusts came off the grill, the kids were all able to do up their pizza just how they wanted it. For the dough, I used my 1 hour bread recipe cut in half. I also substituted whole wheat flour for half of the white flour.

Grilled Pizza

1/2 recipe One Hour White Bread
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
4 cups chopped vegetables of your choice
  we used: tomatoes, peppers, onions, pineapple, mushrooms
2 cups chopped or sliced cooked meat
  we used: 1 cup sliced linguica, 1 cup diced turkey sausage
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

After the mixing and kneading stage of the One Hour bread recipe, move dough to a greased bowl (turning to coat all sides), cover and allow to rise for 25 minutes. When dough has doubled in size, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Lightly brush 8 squares of parchment paper with oil. (I didn't have any parchment paper, so I used freezer paper just to easily move my uncooked crusts around). Using your fingers or a small roller, flatten each piece of dough on a sheet of parchment paper to create 8 rounds. Each round should be about 1/3 in. thick. Lightly brush the tops with oil. Let the rounds sit at room temperature 5-10 minutes.

While dough is resting, pre-heat grill to 400 F. Brush cooking grates clean. Work with 2-4 rounds at a time depending on what can fit onto your grill (mine fits two). Remove dough from parchment paper, place the dough on the cooking grate and grill with lid closed as much as possible, until the dough is well marked and firm on the underside, 2-5 minutes. Rotate as needed for even cooking.

Transfer the crusts to a work surface with the grilled sides facing up. Repeat with the other rounds.

Spread the sauce evenly over the crusts, keeping it from the edges, and then arrange vegetables on top. Top with shredded cheese. Return pizzas to grill and cook, with lid closed as much as possible, until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crusts are crisp, 2-5 minutes. Rotate pizzas occasionally for even cooking. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Serve warm.

This recipe makes a LOT of pizza. You can easily turn this into 16 small pizzas or cut the recipe in half to still feed a family of 4-6. I made the recipe as is, except for with two of the crusts, I cooked both sides without adding any toppings. I then topped one of the fully cooked crusts with refried beans, salsa, shredded lettuce, cilantro, chopped tomatoes and avocados for my cheeseless (and delicous) alternative. The other crust is tucked away in the refrigerator for a quick lunch for me and the kids next week. We fed our entire family, plus an extra teenage boy and the neighbors dog with this meal. [My neighbor was talking to us outside while my 3-year-old was eating her pizza a litt too close to the dog! Whoops!] We also ended up with one extra pizza to serve for lunch today.