Eggplant Parm Pizza

I'll be honest: I'm not crazy about eggplant.

I don't like how it (and mushrooms) try to replace sliced meats in vegetarian sandwiches. They always absorb all of the oil out of my stir-fry and Thai dishes, ending up too greasy without leaving any saucy-flavor for the rest of the veggies to enjoy. Nope, don't like eggplant at all.... EXCEPT in Italian restaurants where it is smothered with tomatoes and cheese, in which case I still don't like it- I love it.


Now I'm not sure about the Seattle markets (yet), but at the farmer's market in SF Civic Center the perfect time to shop is 3:45pm. At 3:30, vendors begin to throw bushels of produce into plastic bags and sell them for a dollar, and at 4:00 they begin to pack up and leave. And voila': $2 pizza toppings!


I salted the eggplant slices and pre-cooked them on a grill-pan over the stove for some nice char marks. (I've found that it's helpful to stove cook fresh produce like bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant prior to putting them on pizza because they take a little longer to soften up.) The tomatoes become a sauce without too much effort: wash; dice; simmer with olive oil, bay leaf, salt and pepper.


And then the easy part: toppings. Spread some mozzarella (I used to try freezing and grating it, but what's the point? Thin slices melt just as well). Spread some freshly-grated Parmesan. Arrange eggplant slices.


Bake! (On 450 until crust is golden brown or slightly charred)


Serve! (Preferably with a nice glass of red wine... maybe a side salad... but wine is key).

Pizza Stone: Attempt #1

Last Sunday we finally tried our hand at using the new pizza stone, using fresh pizza dough from whole foods and various homemade sauces.

I had wanted to make a sweet and seasonal sauce by adding some ripe persimmon in with the tomatoes, but apparently persimmons are already out of season and could not be found in 3 locations. Thus, I decided to concoct a salty-cheesy tomato sauce to pair with some fresh grilled veggies. I prefer to make my tomato sauces from fresh tomatoes, even when out of season (I'm stubborn like that), so this recipe would be more flavorful in the Summer. Otherwise, one could always substitute canned tomatoes if the fresh ones look sub-par.

Kara's Cheesy Pizza Sauce:

-4 ripe tomatoes on the vine, diced

-1/2 red bell pepper, diced

-1 clove garlic

-1/4 cup red wine

-1 dried bay leaf

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly-grated

-salt and pepper, to taste

Add the olive oil, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper to a saucepan over medium-high heat and keep covered while preparing other ingredients. Cut the garlic clove into quarters (I make 4 horizontal slices across the width) and add to the pan along with bay leaf.

Dice the bell pepper and saute in olive oil, salt and pepper until tender and moderately blackened on the skin. Add to sauce.

Leave saucepan uncovered and add red wine. Continue to simmer sauce uncovered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When sauce has almost reached your desired consistency, remove the garlic quarters and bay leaf, and add grated Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.

Total time: About 20 minutes

Can be used directly or refrigerated.

Pizza Toppings: Fontina cheese, Parmesan cheese, sauteed zucchini, spinach and yellow heirloom tomato.

Final thoughts: We need a bit more practice with the pizza peel and stone, as well as rolling out the crust thinner to prevent deep-dish fluffing up, but overall... Delicious!