Tomatoes 3: Grilled pizza

So, I had heard of grilled pizza. But like deep-fried turkey, it sounded like a food hack for someone more adventurous. I am so happy to have been proven wrong - it is faster and easier than oven-baked, and even more delicious. 

Friend and fellow school parent Teresa S. suggested grilled pizza in a Facebook thread when I was looking for ideas to use the extra fresh tomatoes ripening on the kitchen counter – and she was kind enough to type the entire recipe in comments.

Teresa’s tomato-garlic-basil topping is – mmm – better even than it sounds. Divine! Hurry up and get some of the last tomatoes at the farmer’s market this month and try this.

With her permission, here is the recipe, transcribed from a chain of FB comments. I just added a few notes and photos.

Teresa S’s Grilled Pizza with Garden-Fresh Tomatoes

·         ‎5-6 garden-fresh tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into ½” dice [I missed the part about seeding – it was delish anyway, although a bit moist]

·         ½ C grated Mozzarella cheese [use real mozzarella and grate yourself]

·         ¼ C grated fresh Parmesan cheese

·         Kalamata olives

·         Fresh garlic cloves

·         Fresh basic cut into ribbons

Toss tomatoes and table salt in medium bowl; transfer to colander and drain 30 minutes (wipe out and reserve bowl).

 Shake colander to drain off excess liquid; transfer tomatoes to now-empty bowl. Add a clove or two of freshly-pressed garlic (to taste) to tomatoes, along with about a teaspoon of olive oil and ribbons of thinly-sliced basil. Gently toss, then set aside. 

Combine cheeses in second medium bowl and set aside. Cut olives crosswise and place in a third bowl and set aside. (I know this seems like a lot of bowls, but pizza cooks pretty quickly on the grill, and you want everything right at your fingertips so you can add it quickly.)

Turn gas grill on high to get it nice and hot (about 15 minutes), then back it down to medium. It takes a little longer to cook the pizzas, but honestly, they go so fast when the heat's on high it's overwhelming. 

Cook directly on grill. [Jen’s note: Yes, I gave into the temptation to try on a grill pan. Don’t make my mistake. Directly on grill is what you want.]

Slide the crust directly onto the grill and close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes, until top is bubbly and bottoms have grill marks. Pull them off the grill for minute so you can add the toppings - it gets too dang hot to try and top while they're on the grill. 

Once they're topped, but them back on the grill until the cheese bubbles, usually about 3-5 minutes, but watch to make sure the bottom crust doesn't burn. A cookie sheet (one that has a lip on 2 sides only) and grill tongs work pretty well to slide the pizzas on and off the grill.

 

More notes from Jen: 

We made 4 small pizzas, which allowed us to figure out the temperature settings that seemed best for our grill. I think it was somewhere in the 400/425 degree ballpark, but I also think this is one of those things that will vary by grill and improve with practice. Even our most overdone pizzas were delicious, though.

Puppy watching intently, wondering, where's my pizza?

Two of the pizzas were made with store-bought fresh dough (Super Tony’s, for local friends, although Trader Joe’s also sells fresh dough.) For the other batch I made dough in our bread maker. I thought my homemade dough was worlds better, but no one else in the family had a preference. 

Pizza Dough for bread machine 

(adapted from Sunset Italian Cookbook)

Proof 1 package of dry yeast in 1 cup of warm water, allowing to sit for 5 minutes until bubbly. Put in bread machine. Add ½ tsp. salt and 2 tsp. olive oil. Add 2 cups all-purpose flour. Mix to blend. Add another ¾ cups flour. Set machine for “dough” setting and allow machine to do the work for you. When done, roll dough for pizzas.