A whole bunch of ingredients come together to create this delicious Middle Eastern Pizza. A traditional tomato sauce is topped with a medley of cumin-laced vegetables. The crowning touches are kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and two cheeses. Don’t skip the mint leaves. They make all of the other flavors pop.
Middle Eastern Pizza
Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound prepared pizza dough
1 medium eggplant, cubed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, diced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Torn fresh mint, for topping
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500℉. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and stretch the pizza dough to fill the pan. Brush dough with olive oil and bake until just golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cumin, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the eggplant is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes.
3. In a separate skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 450℉.
5. Top the baked pizza crust with 1 cup sauce, the mozzarella, eggplant mixture, caramelized onion, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes.
6. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the mint.
Serves 8
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (35 ounce) can whole tomatoes, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the garlic powder and tomatoes and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Recipes from Food Network Magazine
Manchester-based Horsebeach released a self-titled album this summer. It’s a pretty stunning record with jangly guitars, tinges of psychedelia, and slices of synth tucked between haunting lyrics.
‘What Problem?’ is one of my favorite tracks.
“I apologise for I can no longer pay
my way round here
I apologise for anything I might say
from here on out
Patience is a trait that appeals to me
It’s a mind so distracted
and so quick to hide
You could tell me why
but you won’t say
how long now
I apologise for I can no longer pay
my way round here
I apologise for anything I might say
from here on out
I apologise for nothing”
Check out Horsebeach on Facebook and Bandcamp, where you can buy the music.
Cheers!
