I've been wanting to try grilled pizza for a while, but it wasn't until recently that I had a grill that I could use to make it. The key is to get the grill really hot- like those fancy 900 degree pizza ovens that are trending these days! Well.. not that hot, otherwise we'd have our own personal 900 degree oven ha, but same idea, right? Anyways, the crust on this pizza is AMAZING (I used the
crust recipe I used for the eggplant pizza I posted back in April- I'm telling you, you have to try it, it's so easy!), and definitely similar to the texture those crazy expensive brick ovens will give you. Plus, the grill adds awesome flavor that you couldn't get from your oven. You have to work pretty quickly once you start grilling, but as long as you have everything ready to go, the pizza will be done sooner than it would be if you baked it in the oven! I chose to put olive oil, garlic, asiago, parmesan, and zucchini on mine for an end-of-summer white pizza, but you could use any sauce and toppings you want. Just recognize that less is more- too many toppings and your pizza won't have the crisp yet fluffy crust that the grill has the divine power to give it!
pizza on the grill
pizza dough, divided in half for two personal-sized pizzas
2-4 tablespoons olive oil (you could also use olive oil to coat one side before grilling and use a pesto or red sauce for your topping!)
1/2-3/4 cup Asiago cheese
1/2-3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini
Sprig of rosemary
Tablespoon of thyme leaves
Prepare the pizza dough according to recipe directions. When the dough is ready for shaping, preheat your grill to it's highest heat setting. Roll each half of the dough into a 10" diameter circle. You can always more personal-sized pizzas and just make them smaller, but I think 10" is probably the largest you can make on the grill because you have to be able to put it on the grill without burning yourself and flip it half way through. Make sure to prepare everything before moving to the grill because you have to work pretty fast once you start! Shred the cheese using a fine grater and toss to combine. Mince the garlic and use a vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini into ribbons. I went outside to my garden at this point and picked some rosemary and thyme, but you're welcome to use store bought or any other herb/seasoning that sounds good to you! Ok. Now you're ready to move to the grill!
Once your grill has reached it's highest temperature, generously coat one side of each pizza dough with olive oil. Place each round on the grill, close it, and let it sit for about 3 minutes. The dough will likely puff up, almost like a pita, but don't worry, it'll flatten back out as soon as you flip it. Once char marks begin to appear on the bottom, flip the pizza dough and coat the other side of the pizza with olive oil (or you could use pesto or a red pizza sauce). I tried drizzling olive oil.. and I'd probably recommend painting it on with a oil brush instead haha because it started running off the pizza since it wasn't perfectly flat anymore. It still turned out fine though, so if drizzling is easier for you, go right ahead and drizzle! Then quickly sprinkle your cheese and garlic on the pizzas and top with the zucchini ribbons and fresh herbs. Let cook for about 2 more minutes until the cheese has melted and then serve warm!
Maybe this goes without saying.. but it might be a good idea to clean your grill if you haven't in a while.. our pizza dough was nearly on fire when we opened the lid to flip it because the remnants of past grilling fun had caught on fire!
See! There's the fire! We had to move our pizzas over to the other side but you'd probably want to keep them out front if possible so you don't burn yourself when you're adding the toppings!
It even looks good half eaten!!
