Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

I think I've got Domino's beat with this one...

This pizza turned out SO great!! The dough was quite delicious. The recipe calls for the use of refrigerated prepared pizza dough, but I decided to make my dough from scratch -

I used to think that it was crazy to have a pizza without any meat on it, but I'll take this Eggplant Parmesan Pizza any day!

Ok, first let's start with the dough. As I said, the recipe calls for refrigerated prepared pizza dough. Lately, I have been preferring to make things from scratch (example: Create-a-Cookie). My good friend Sara has similar feelings, and posted this great pizza dough recipe on her blog a few weeks ago. (She has a pretty fantastic blog, by the way! Along with entertaining and witty stories each day, she makes food related posts on Fridays! http://messingwithtexas.wordpress.com/)

Here is the link to her blog post where she posted the recipe for this pizza dough that I used tonight: http://messingwithtexas.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/margherita-pizza/

You can just follow the Pampered Chef recipe and use refrigerated prepared pizza dough, but this made from scratch recipe makes INCREDIBLE pizza dough!! It really added so much to my pizza tonight! She did tell me to do things just slightly differently tonight from what she posted in her blog. When I got the dough out of the refrigerator tonight, I rolled it into a ball and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then I flattened it out, and let it sit again for 15 minutes. I then flattened it out, and let it sit for another 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure it was after those 3 sets of 15 minutes, the dough was where I wanted it. You can always repeat the flattening and letting it sit for 15 minutes however many times you need/like.

Aside from the fantastic pizza dough, all of the other parts of the pizza were amazing as well! The sauce had so much flavor to it! In the cookbook, it says that "the homemade sauce on this pizza tastes much better than canned varieties and is worth the extra effort." I couldn't have said it better myself! It was just packed with flavor. You can't even compare it to a can of pizza sauce.

Now, the eggplant! I was very, very pleasantly surprised! The only time I have ever had eggplant was in a cooking class I took 5 years ago in college when we made a Parmesan Eggplant dish. I don't remember being very impressed, because I have never eaten or cooked with eggplant since then. It was so delicious on this pizza! Really added a LOT of flavor to the pizza. I am normally a Pepperoni Pizza kind of girl, but I loved the eggplant! From now on, any time I make pizza, I think that this is going to be the recipe that I will always go to.

A few notes that I just remembered - if you use the from-scratch dough, then once you have your dough spread/flattened out, bake the dough for 5 minutes at 475°F. Then, turn the oven down to 425°F to follow the baking instructions that the Pampered Chef recipe lists after you put the toppings on the pizza. Also, another thing I did different was cut my eggplant slices into quarters after I cooked them but before I put them on the pizza. The slices were a little big, and having them more cut up made the pizza easier to eat, I think.

Incredibly delicious pizza! You will be happy that you made this instead of ordering out!


Eggplant Parmesan Pizza
Pampered Chef The Vegetarian Table
Published by The Pampered Chef, Ltd. in 2011.

Prep time: 40 minutes  Total time: 55 minutes  Yield: 8 servings

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 lb refrigerated prepared pizza dough
1 lb Japanese or Chinese eggplant (about 2 medium eggplants)
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. For sauce, combine 1 tbsp of the oil and pressed garlic in (1.5-qt) Saucepan. Cook over medium heat 60-90 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, sugar, rosemary and black pepper; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low; cook 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Remove Saucepan from heat; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, lightly brush Stoneware Cookie Sheet with 1 tbsp of the oil. Roll dough to edges of Cookie Sheet using Baker's Roller, stretching dough to cover bottom. Prick dough with pastry tool. Bake 18-20 minutes or until top of crust begins to brown.
3. Trim and discard ends of eggplants and slice into 1/2-in. disks using Chef's Knife. Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in (12-in.) Skillet over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Cook eggplants 10-12 minutes or until browned, turning occasionally. Remove Skillet from heat.
4. Combine cheeses in Classic Batter Bowl; mix well. Spread 1 cup of the sauce over crust. Top evenly with eggplants and cheese mixture. Bake 14-16 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Remove Cookie Sheet from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool 5 minutes. Cut pizza into 16 pieces using Pizza Cutter; drizzle with remaining sauce and sprinkle with basil.

If you decide to make the from-scratch dough, just substitute any Pampered Chef directions about the dough with the recipe on Sara's blog until it is time to put the toppings on the pizza. Then follow the Pampered Chef directions about temperature and baking time for the dough. Also, refrigerate your eggplant after you buy it and use within a day or two or else it will become bitter. Enjoy!