(Gas) Grilling Pizza

I love grilled pizza. It's been a long time (a LONG time) since I've written about our favorite BBQ food on the blog. In fact, the last time I talked about our process for grilling pizza was just after the new year in 2010. That's right. We make grilled pizza no matter the time of year or (frigid) weather. We've even made cheesy flatbreads on the grill -- I'm pretty much obsessed with grilling anything and everything.

We recently purchased a gas grill, and our method had changed. Over the years, too, we've picked up some new tips and tricks, so I wanted to revisit.

In the summer, we make grilled pizza at least once a week. Twice, if we're lucky. If you haven't had a chance to try it out yet, be sure to check out my recent piece for Wise Bread: This Is How You Grill Pizza At Home. It's a goodie -- and I don't get paid per click or anything to share my articles, so just go and read it! NOW!

Some additional tips from my home kitchen, er, patio:

• Use all white flour in your crust recipe. It promotes better gluten production and will mean less tearing of your pizza on the grill.
• Olive oil is your FRIEND, people. Lube it up. The dough and the grill. And char marks are definitely tasty, just remember there's a fine line between beautifully charred and horribly burned.
• You'll want all your toppings at the ready before you start. We often grill veggies for the whole week and just put them in little prep bowls for easy pinching.
• Experiment. One of our most favorite grilled pizzas involved brie and grilled peaches.

And I'll be sharing my new favorite crust recipe sometime next week. I have one more trial before it's perfecto. If you have a charcoal grill, don't miss our old trusty tips from 4-1/2 years ago (!). Seriously, once you try this at home -- you're hooked for life.

Also: Happy Birthday to ME! I turn 31 today (here are my thoughts on 30), and I'm celebrating at the beach! For more vacation photos, follow me on Instagram.


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Rustic Pizza -- Make it Tonight!

There are days when I think we should have started a pizza blog. It seems like at least once or twice a week, we've combined bread, tomatoes, cheese, and basil in another way. We have our favorite pizza doughs -- the original and pumpkin version. Then all the instructions on how to grill pizza. We've also shared a cool new stromboli recipe as well as inspired ways to make your pizza gourmet.

So, just when you thought we were fresh out of ideas -- we created this majestic, browned beast.


This rustic pizza is full of good stuff. It's more like a pie, I guess. And this recipe features one of our new favorite ingredients: heirloom tomatoes. I like how they look -- as unique as you and I. But did you know they're full of enhanced nutrition, too?

Yeah. In fact, heirloom tomatoes are not only far more tasty, juicy, and full-bodied than supermarket tomatoes, but they also pack vitamins and antioxidants that the super-perfectly round and red varieties lack (Source). What vitamins, you ask? According to HealthCastle.com, they're "rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K, and potassium, among many other vitamins and minerals. They're also widely known as a good source of lycopene" (Source).


What I like best about heirloom tomatoes (well, aside from the taste and nutritional benefits) are the names!!! If you'd like a full list of them, check out this site. After taking a look, I think the kinds we bought are maybe Canistrino, Mortgage Lifters, or Brandy Wines. But it's difficult to tell with so many varieties!


RUSTIC PIZZA

What you'll need . . .

• Pizza dough (see recipes above)
• 2 medium to large heirloom tomatoes
• 3 to 4 handfuls kale, sliced
• 1/2 medium to large onion, sliced
• Ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 2 eggs (optional, but highly suggested)
• Parmesan cheese (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Pepper (to taste)
• Fresh basil

Method . . .

1. Prepare your pizza dough and set aside. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F -- place a pizza stone in the oven while it preheats.
2. In a large pot, put in a little olive oil and cook kale and onion over medium-high heat. Then, much like with Stephen's crispy kale recipe, add the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until well done and not soggy.
3. Roll and stretch out your pizza dough so that it's a large circle -- about 18 to 20 inches in diameter.
4. In the center of your dough, start filling it with the kale/onion mixture. Make a circle with this ingredient that's maybe 15 inches in diameter (you'll be folding the dough over later).
5. Then lay your sliced tomatoes on top, just layer until you've used them all.
6. Layer the fresh mozzarella on that. Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese.
7. Fold the excess dough toward the middle and press seams together so it looks like in the photo above.
8. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes. Then take out of the oven and crack two eggs over the top of the pizza and raise heat to 445 degrees F.
9. Keep baking for another 10 to 15 minutes -- watching the dough to make sure it doesn't burn. If it looks like it's headed in that direction, covered the whole thing with aluminum foil.
10. Cook until the egg is set. Then tear some basil leaves over the pizza for extra taste and add pepper as desired. Slice and enjoy with some hot sauce!

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