Ultimate Veggie Pizza

My definition of a perfect homemade pizza is a tender, chewy crust topped with a slick of  tangy tomato sauce, a heaping helping of cheese and loaded with seasonally fresh produce.  Let's be honest, that's not only my definition of a perfect pizza - that's my description of a perfect meal.  😅 I can't think of a more delicious way to enjoy a serving of vegetables.  🍅

October is National Pizza Month. (As if I needed a reason to enjoy this treasured comfort food.)  My love of pizza runs deep and it expands far beyond the confines of a solitary month so I'm proposing that 2021 be the YEAR of pizza.  🍕💁🏻‍♀️ Can we add that to the ballot next month?  

Learning to use my Big Green Egg as a pizza oven has been a process.  It's been a delicious process but a process none the less.  I've had to learn how to set it up, get the temperature to soar beyond 500 degrees and to open the lid without singeing the hair off of my arms or even worse - my eyebrows. 😯  Once I mastered the technique though - I was hooked.  Big Green Egg pizza is probably the best homemade pizza that I've ever tasted. 

When my kids were little, they were pizza minimalists.  They liked cheese pizza and only occasionally could they be persuaded to spice it up with a scattering of pepperoni.  The mere mention of adding toppings like fresh tomatoes, artichokes, olives or spinach to our pizza would make them wrinkle up their noses like I suggested we add moldy cheese or dirty socks to our pie.  Ben is a carnivore and would prefer meat of every variety on his pizza but the topping choice is the prerogative of the pizza baker in this house.  😉  This week, I was the pizza baker and I loaded up my pizza with all my favorites.  

Ultimate Veggie Pizza
1 pizza crust
1 cup pizza sauce
2 cups baby spinach
2 shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
½ cup jarred or canned artichoke, cut into 1” pieces
½ cup fresh red or orange bell pepper, cut into narrow 2″ strips
½ cup red onion, cut into thin wedges
½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Roll out the pizza dough into a circle and preheat the grill.  

Spread pizza sauce over the dough. 

Evenly spread spinach over pizza sauce.

Sprinkle cheese over spinach.

Top with remaining vegetables and almonds. 

Bake pizza until bottom crust is browned and cheese is golden and bubbly.  

If you have a Big Green Egg that you want to turn into a pizza oven - these are the things that will help you get started. 
1.  Put the plate setter upside down over the charcoal and set the grate on top.  
2.  New charcoal will give you the hottest temperatures.
3.  Open the lid as slowly as possible.  (Burping is not sufficient.)  
4.  Heat your pizza stone on top of the grate. 
5.  Sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and build your pizza on the Egg.  
The rest is just trial and error.  Be patient and enjoy the process.  It's not always perfect but it's always delicious.  

Ciao!

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