Saturday, July 14, 2007

Pizza on the barbecue... oh yeah, baby!

I tried it out the other night.
I hadn't made it on the grill I got last summer. It has a different type of grill surface. The old one had basic wire racks. The new one has closer-set, wider strips.
I think the new one actually works better.
Plus there is a gauge on the outside of the grill to monitor the temperature.
Anyway, here is what I used:

Pizza dough (I get the pre-made stuff from Trader Joe's)
Sauce (I got a good basic marinara from TJs and added it to some sauteed garlic and fresh chopped basil.)
Cheese, grated or crumbled (I used grated fontina this time. I like the taste and meltability of it. Feta is good too for more tang.)
Various toppings (I used zucchini, white mushrooms, yellow pepper and chopped pancetta that I cooked off head of time.)
Misc: dried herbs, sea salt, flour, olive oil

And here is how I made the pizza:

I preheated the grill on medium setting.

I got my sauce all ready and kept it warming on the grill's side burner.

My veggie toppings were prepared by slicing them super thin. This way they can cook through on the grill in the short cooking time. I have done chunky toppings in the past, but I cook them a bit ahead of time.

I stretched the dough out to my desired size on a floured surface. I made it fairly thin this time. I have done a thicker crust before, but then you just get a pizza that is smaller in diameter. I also don't roll the dough. I just flour it and my hands and sort of stretch it into shape.

Next I brushed both sides of the dough with an olive oil to which I had added dried herbs and sea salt.

Once I had this done, I put the dough right on the grill and closed the lid. I cooked it until it was browned and a little crispy on one side, then I flipped it.

As soon as I flipped it I spooned the warmed sauce over the cooked side of the dough. Then I layered on cheese, pancetta and my assorted veggies. I had a little sauce and cheese left, so I added a little more. What the heck?

Then I just let it cook until the cheese was melted and the underside of the dough was as brown and crispy as I like it.

It was soooooooooo good. I can't believe I waited almost two years since my last grilled pizza.

Tonight I have the fixings to make another Italian feast. I will either make gnocchi or pasta. Whichever I choose will get a pesto cream sauce with mushrooms and prosciutto.

Buon appetito!

2 comments:

Pamela said...

PIZZA!

Man, can you please move up here so we can partake of these delicious feasts?

That little kid surfing was DRIVEN. I asked her, after she was out of the water, where she got her stance from and she just looked at me. Her mom was standing behind her, and gave her a shove and said "Your mom!". It was pretty funny!

Jill said...

You can come visit anytime and I will whip up a pizza with the toppings of your choice.