Gourmet Homemade Pizza Using Seasonal Ingredients

Skip the delivery — try this tasty DIY pizza instead.

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It’s tomato season! Whether from the farmers market, your local grocer or plucked right off your own backyard vines, fresh tomatoes are versatile and delicious. This month, we’re partnering with Sara Forte of Sprouted Kitchen to share tips, insights and recipes featuring tomatoes.

When it comes to baking pizza at home, there are a few key things to keep in mind.

First things first: it starts with great dough. The trick with homemade pizza dough is to plan ahead: Making the dough a day in advance will allow it time to rise properly. Otherwise, your next best option is to buy a round from your favorite neighborhood pizza shop. Conventional grocery store-bought dough is a last resort, as it is typically the least fresh option.

Next, have all your toppings ready and available. It is the prep of the toppings that takes the time, not the pizza baking itself. Consider a mix of both raw and cooked vegetables, some meats and a mixture of cheeses (as mozzarella can sometimes be a little plain on its own). The recipe below uses grana, very similar to Parmesan, but feel free to try mixing in fontina or provolone for variety.

Finally, back to the dough. In order to create a bit of a crusty barrier for your pizza sauce, parbake (partially bake) the dough to prevent the pizza from getting soggy. Once the sauce is on, decorate quickly and from there it is really just minutes in the oven.

As for the sauce, this recipe can easily be doubled if you are making pizza for a group, or want to freeze extra for later.

buon appetito!

Live.Love.Lux tip: Bake your pizza to perfection in your Electrolux wall oven – the Perfect Taste™Convection technology circulates consistent heat for even results.

Pizza with Mozzarella, Grana, Cherry Tomatoes, Grilled Eggplant & Arugula

"I use a rimmed baking sheet, because I can make one large pizza on there, enough to feed four, or two smaller ones. If a pizza stone or using a grill is your preferred method, this recipe can be easily adapted to whatever pizza cooking vehicle you prefer." -Sara

Servings: 2 to 4

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Ingredients

1 small eggplant, ends removed, cut in 1/2” rounds

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Pizza dough (recipe below)

Roasted tomato sauce (recipe below)

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

1/2 cup grated grana padano

1/2-3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes

3/4 cup baby arugula

For the sauce:

1 14.5 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes (whole or diced)

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil, to taste

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For the dough:

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon natural cane sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 cups all purpose (or tipo "00" flour), as needed

Instructions

Make the sauce: To make your sauce, drain out some of the liquid from the tomatoes. Into a food processor, puree the tomatoes with the garlic. Add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and give it one more pulse.

Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and sugar. Add about 1/2 cup warm water (not hot) and stir to make sure your yeast is active. You should see small bubbles form. Let it sit for a minute. Add the salt, oil and half of the flour and stir to mix. Add another 1 cup of water and the rest of the flour and stir. Add more flour or water as needed so it is tacky, but dry enough that you can knead it. Continue to knead the dough until it feels elastic. Put it in a clean, oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature for 12 hours (timing may vary based on temperature and humidity of the room). It should double in size. 

Flour your work surface. Divide the dough into 2-3 rounds, work them into a ball and leave them to rest under a damp kitchen towel another 30 minutes. 

When ready to prepare your pizza, roll them with a floured rolling pin into desired shape and size and continue with your pizza recipe. 

Make the pizza: Slice the eggplant into 1/4” rounds. Salt it over a colander and let it sit for 30 minutes to release excess liquid. Heat your grill to medium high heat. Dab the eggplant dry with paper towels and drizzle it generously with olive oil to coat. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side, set aside to cool. Chop into 1” pieces.

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and a drizzle of olive oil. Flour a larger surface or cutting board and roll out the dough fairly thin. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes just to get the dough started.

Remove and spread desired amount of sauce on top. Sprinkle the mozzarella, half the grana, a handful of eggplant pieces, tomatoes, the remaining grana and a drizzle of olive oil on top. Put it back in the upper third of the oven and bake until the cheese just starts to brown on top, about 8 minutes.

Remove, top with the arugula, let it sit about 5 minutes to settle before you slice and serve.

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