Capers and Eggplant Pizza

I confess, I’m a pizza junkie, in fact as long as I have cheese, some sort of tomatoes (sauce, diced, sliced, pureed, or whatever) and a crust, I’m happy. I constantly experiment with the toppings, the following recipe is my latest creation. Yes, I know, I didn’t discover America; others have made similar pizzas before me – but – this one came out delicious and I’ll be making it often.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
2. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll out to a 10″ circle.

Topping

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed
• 1/2 lb of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 25 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• basil (for garnish)

Directions

1. Wash and slice the eggplant into very thin slices (I used a mandolin). Grill the eggplant slices in a pan for about 2 to 2.5 minutes on each side.
2. Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes. Cut the mozzarella cheese into medium-large dices and tear the basil after cleaning it carefully.
3. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese into, the capers and the cherry tomatoes over the pizza; season with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake at 450 F for 4 minutes.
4. After 4 minutes add the eggplant and continue cooking for another 4 minutes, until the edges brown lightly browned and crispy. Remove from oven, garnish with the basil leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS