gourmet grilled pizza

for us, weeknight dinners often need to be quick and easy.  we threw together this grilled pizza for dinner a few days ago after work.  it came together in no time and it was so delicious.  what an amazing combination of flavors!

this pizza is easy enough to throw together for a quick weeknight dinner, but it is impressive enough to serve at a dinner party too.  it's like gourmet pizza.

we actually made this two days in a row.  the first day, we used half of the pizza dough to make one large pizza.  (i'm slightly ashamed to say that we ate the whole thing in one sitting . . . just the two of us.  it was that good.)  the second day, we tried to be more sensible and used the remaining half of the dough to make four small personal-size pizzas which lasted us two days.  will power, people.

we rolled our whole wheat pizza dough super thin for a nice thin and crispy crust.

grilling the pizza dough gives it such a wonderful flavor.  don't even remotely worry if your pizza ends up to be a shape other than round.  it is nearly impossible to make a perfectly round pizza on the grill.  i've tried.  sure, i know they make pizza pans for the grill, but i like to put my pizza dough right on the grill grates.  those grill marks across the pizza crust are just too good to pass up.

we didn't really measure the ingredients, we just kind of eyeballed it.  you can adjust the measurements to your liking.

we topped our pizza with caramelized onions, and sauteed baby bella mushrooms and garlic.  the gruyere cheese was a nice twist instead of traditional pizza cheese.  the fresh spinach and arugula with balsamic on top really is what sent this pizza over the top.

(we used our favorite balsamic vinegar which is the dark chocolate balsamic from the filling station in chelsea market in nyc.)

if you are skeptical about putting a salad on top of your pizza, don't be!  it's unbelievable!

ps: looking for other grilled pizza ideas?  try our grilled bbq chicken pizza.

grilled whole wheat pizza with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, and gruyere cheese, topped with fresh spinach, arugula, and balsamic vinegar
prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 15-20 minutes
yields: 2 large pizzas

ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. whole wheat pizza dough
2 tablespoons salted butter (divided)
1 large onion, sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cups gruyere cheese, finely shredded
2 oz. fresh baby spinach
2 oz. fresh arugula
4-5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

directions:
in a pan over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter.  add the sliced onions and saute until translucent.  add the brown sugar and allow the onions to caramelize.  remove from the heat and set aside.  in a separate pan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.  then, add the sliced mushrooms.  saute until cooked throughout.  remove from the heat and set aside.

on a floured surface, roll the pizza dough into a circle with a rolling pin.  place the pizza dough on a preheated grill and cook for 3-4 minutes over low heat.  flip the pizza dough over, and top with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, and shredded gruyere cheese.  allow the pizza to cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the cheese has melted.  be sure to watch the pizza closely so that it does not burn.  in a large bowl, drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the fresh baby spinach and arugula.  toss to evenly coat.  once the pizza has finished grilling, put the balsamic covered spinach and arugula on top of the finished pizza.  serve immediately.

enjoy!

love, laurie