food.com

Mediterranean Pizza With Caramelized Onions

5.0(15)

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.

by PaulaG·published 2005-08-02

Open original recipe

Greek

Servings

(4–6)

Total time

prep 1h

Calories / serving

1005 kcal

Ingredients (30)

serves

1/4 cup olive oilolive-oil
3 lbs sweet onions, sliced thinonion
8 garlic cloves, pressedgarlic
2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushedthyme
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushedoregano
2 bay leavesbay-leaf
saltsalt
pepperpepper
8 ounces eggplants, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubeseggplant
2 medium roma tomatoes, peeled and dicedtomato
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushedbasil
1 tablespoon olive oilolive-oil
1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsedcapers
pepperpepper
1 cup warm waterwater
1 tablespoon yeastyeast
1/8 teaspoon sugarsugar
2 tablespoons olive oilolive-oil
1/2 teaspoon saltsalt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flourflour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flourflour
4 tablespoons olive oil, dividedolive-oil
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram or 1/4 teaspoon dried marjorammarjoram
1 teaspoon fresh basil or 1/4 teaspoon dried basilbasil
1 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oreganooregano
1 cup feta cheese, crumbledfeta
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and cut into thin stripsbell-pepper
1/3 cup kalamata olive, pitted, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, gratedparmesan
red pepper flakesred-pepper-flakes

Instructions (9 steps)

01To 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.
02To 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.
03To 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.
04For 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.
05In 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.
06While 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.
07Brush 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.
08Serve immediately with additional parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
09Pleasse Note: Do not put hot toppings on pizza crust. Toppings should be at least room temperature.