Grill It Up~ Grilled Summer Veggie Pizza

There was a time when someone would mention grill and pizza together and I just would just shake my head. I had no idea it was possible.

I really thought people were crazy for putting pizzas on a grill. Didn’t they know the grill was meant for steaks and chicken, not pizza!

I finally decided I was going to see what all the fuss was about. I wanted to make a veggie pizza since I gave up meat recently and this is what I came up with!

Grilled Summer Veggie Pizza

 

Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar

 

 

Making the Pizza Dough

1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

 

Toppings for your pizza: Red onion, Zucchini, and Squash. You will also need a cheese spread such as Alouette Herb and Garlic Cheese Spread to use in place of marinara sauce. I used maybe 2TB on our pizza. I also added a couple crumbles of fresh mozzarella cheese on top.

Use a mandolin to cut the veggies into thin round slices. Put in EVOO and salt and pepper while you prep the dough. Set your cheese out so it gets at room temp and is easy to spread.

BEFORE you start your pizza, GRILL YOUR VEGGIES! Once they are done, set them to the side to wait to be put on the pizza! 

How to Grill your Pizza: 

• Prepare the grill for high direct heat. Prepare a small bowl with olive oil for greasing the grill grates and for brushing the pizza. Prepare the toppings so they are ready to go on the pizza
•  Shape the pizza dough by flattening it with your hands on a slightly floured surface. Once you’ve stretched the dough, let it sit for 5 minutes and then push out the edges with your fingers again, until you have a nice round shape, about 12-inches in diameter. Do not make a raised rim, it will interfere with the grilling process.
• Once the grill is hot (you can hold your hands an inch over the grates for no more than 2 seconds), dip a tightly folded up paper towel in olive oil and use tongs to wipe the grill grates. Then place a pizza dough round on a lightly floured (or you can use cornmeal) rimless cookie sheet (or pizza peel if you have one). Let the dough slide off the cookie sheet onto the hot grill grates. Close the lid of the grill and let cook for 2 minutes.
• After 2 minutes, open the grill and check underneath the dough to see if it is getting browned. It should only take a couple minutes if you have a hot grill. The top of the pizza dough will start bubbling up with air pockets.

• Once the pizza dough has browned lightly on one side, use your cookie sheet or pizza peel to remove it from the grill. Use a spatula to flip the dough over so that the grilled side is now up. Keep the grill covered so it retains its heat for the next step.
•  Paint the grilled surface of the pizza with a little olive oil, then add your toppings!.. Remember to go easy on your sauce so you don’t make the dough too soggy.
• Slide the topped pizza back onto the grill. If you are using a gas grill, reduce the heat. If working with a charcoal grill, close the vents on the cover almost all the way. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the bottom begins to char and the cheese is bubbly. Pull off the grate with a spatula onto a cutting board or other flat surface and let rest for a couple minutes before cutting into slices.

*** As you can see, the directions above tell you how to cook the pizza directly on your grill if you DO NOT have a pizza stone. I suggest using a pizza stone and that is what I used to make my pizza here. We have done it with the above method of straight on the grill but the kids prefer the dough off the pizza stone.

 

Don’t forget to head over to my co-host, Following in my Shoes and check out her grilling recipe for this series!

Also, do you have a great grilling recipe you would like to share? Link it up below!

Tagged as: Blog Tour, Following in my Shoes, grilling, summer