Mediterranean Pizza With Caramelized Onions

PaulaG's Note:

Is this time consuming? Yes. Is it worth it? I thought so, hope you do too. If you can get past the ingredients and instructions, you are in for a true taste delight. When preparing this just think it is 3 wonderful recipes that come together to create 1 terrific pizza! The onions, eggplant and peppers can be prepared ahead and kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours before using.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Caramelized Onions

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 lbs sweet onions, sliced thin
• 8 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• pepper

Eggplant

• 8 ounces eggplants, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
• pepper

Crust

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Toppings

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1/3 cup kalamata olive, pitted, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
• red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. To caramelize the onions, heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, add onions, garlic and herbs. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes or until onions are soft and most of the moisture has evaporated. Discard the bay leaf; add salt and pepper to taste.
2. To roast the bell peppers, core, cut in half and place on broiler pan skin side up; preheat broiler to high and place peppers under broiler for 10 to 15 minutes or until skin blackens. With a pair of tongs, place the cooked peppers in a paper bag, fold top closed, and cool for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle remove skin and slice into thin strips.
3. To roast the eggplant and tomatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an ovenproof pan with non-stick cooking spray; add the eggplant, tomatoes, basil, capers and drizzle with olive oil, place in oven and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. When eggplant is cooked, add pepper to taste.
4. For the toppings, finely mince the fresh herbs or crush the dried herbs; add the herbs to 3 tablespoons olive oil and warm until herbs are fragrant. Set aside while preparing crust.
5. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over 1 cup warm water; stir to mix. Allow to stand for 5 minutes or until bubbly. In a medium size bowl, combine the flours and measure 1 1/2 cups; set aside. Add the salt to the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour; stir in yeast and oil. Gradually add the reserved flour until dough is soft but not sticky. Knead until smooth; place in a bowl that has been lightly oiled with olive oil. Allow to rise for 20 minutes or until double in size.
6. While assembling the pizza, preheat oven to 475 degrees; oil a large pizza pan (15 inch) with olive oil. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 times; roll into desired size, stretch dough to sides of pan forming crust around the edges.
7. Brush dough within 1/4 inch of crust with olive oil and herb mixture, top with crumbled feta cheese, onions, eggplant mixture, bell peppers and olives. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over all and lightly drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is lightly brown.
8. Serve immediately with additional parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
9. Pleasse Note: Do not put hot toppings on pizza crust. Toppings should be at least room temperature.

Reviews

[evelyn/athens]

Agree with all the previous reviewers - this is one awesome pizza. Kids didn't care for it, but DH and I couldn't stop eating it. I did the toppings the previous day and used a prepared crust so assembly was fast yesterday. I thought everything was perfect together. Thanks.

[currybunny]

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is an amazing pizza and I can't recommend it highly enough! Didn't take too long at all - I made all the toppings for this along with 2 other "gourmet" pizzas in under 2 hours. And the work was definately worth it! Thanks so much for posting your fab recipe!

[Wendys Kitchen]

Well my family rated this more than 5 stars! I made the pizza crust more wholemeal than white - a bit healthier. Also I substituted the eggplant for zucchini (courgettes) and pumpkin and roast baby tomatoes - otherwise followed recipe but cut way down on the oil and it worked wonderfully!