Eggplant and goat cheese Pizza

Hey guys,

 



Today’s recipe is perfcet for those in-between season days: it’s great for a sunny, hot day (fresh, flavourful veggies! Goat cheese! Basil! Balsamic!) but also great on a cold fall day (warm, comforting, doughy pizza goodness). I make this pizza year round and it’s always one of my favourites.

Eggplant and  goat cheese pizza, yummy!!

The pizza dough is very simple, and this is my favorite recipe, but you're free to use your own.

Ingredients

 

Dough: (makes two 12-inch pizzas)

• 2¼ tsp instant yeast
• 1⅓ cup warm water
• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

 

Toppings:

• 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 small eggplant, sliced
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup pizza sauce
• 70g goat cheese
• Balsamic vinaigrette, to taste
• A dash of red chili flakes (optional)
• Fresh basil, chopped 

Instructions

1. To make dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine yeast and water and let sit until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add in flour, olive oil, salt, sugar and Italian seasoning, and mix on low speed until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. Dough should be tacky yet elastic. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let sit until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Place red pepper and eggplant slices on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Lightly oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste, and bake for 15-20 minutes until softened. Remove from oven and increase temperature to 450°. Place a pizza stone in the oven while it's heating up.
3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and punch down. Split the dough in half, covering and storing one half in the fridge (unless you're making two pizzas, as I always do). Remove pizza stone from oven; roll dough into a 12-inch circle and transfer to pizza stone.
4. Spread pizza sauce over the dough, add roasted red peppers and eggplant, crumble on goat cheese and top with a few drizzles of balsamic vinaigrette. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is golden. Slice, top with fresh basil, and serve

Notes:

 

The dough recipe used here yields two 12-inch pizzas. When I make it I either use both and make two pizzas, or cover and store one round in the freezer until a later date.

 

Cover the pizza dough with the sauce, roasted veggies, goat cheese and balsamic and bake on a preheated pizza stone until the crust is brown and crispy, then remove from the oven and top with freshly cut basil. So easy, so tasty, there’s no wonder why this is a regular meal in my house!

 

What is your favorite pizza toppings?