Grilled Pizza

Summer is here! Memorial day weekend was beautiful here in the Northeast, and we welcomed in summer with a bang! As I mentioned in my last post, to me summer means grilling, rosé, tennis tan lines and hanging with family and friends all day and night. To my kids, summer means swimming, playgrounds and picnics. Tonight, my kids had their first outdoor pizza picnic of the season. We spread of the picnic blanket on the lawn, they all run around and play while stopping for bites of pizza, chips, veggies and watermelon. The have loads of fun and the best part is easy clean up!

Watching the kids enjoy their picnic gave me an idea for dinner tonight – combining my favorite summer pass time with their…grilled pizza! And because the hubby and I like variety, and because I can’t do anything simply, I am making 3 types of pizza. All three pizzas do start out the same – with store bought pizza dough. You can make your own, but why. You can either get it at the grocery store, or even go into your local pizza place and ask to buy some of their dough. No reason to add to your To Do list. Let the professionals take care of that part for you.

Tip #1: Let your dough rest and come to room temperature. I did not do that and getting it to roll or stretch what nearly impossible. If you have your dough in the fridge, remove it, place it on a floured surface, cover it with a clean dish towel and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Once it has rested, rolling it out should be no problem. Make sure your surface and your rolling pin are floured well to avoid sticking. You can roll the dough as thick or thin as you want, but I suggest a thinner crust as it will cook through quicker on the grill without burning. Once they are rolled to your desired size/thickness, place the crusts on floured baking sheets and set them aside while you prepare your toppings.

Tip #2: prepare all your toppings in advance. Grilling pizza is a quick process and you want to have everything ready to go rather than running back and forth. I had 3 pizzas and 3 sets of toppings. For the Margarita it was simple, tomato sauce and sliced fresh mozzarella. For the sausage and peppers pizza, I had the same tomato sauce, and sliced some precooked chorizo and red and yellow peppers to cook on the grill. And lastly, for the peach and prosciutto pizza, i sliced up a peach to grill and had some shredded mozzarella.

To the grill we go! Start by grilling the toppings and getting them prepared.
Tip #3: Grill the sausage whole or in long strips before you slice it. I wanted it to be grilled as much possible, but working with those tiny slices on the grill was not fun, and I won’t even get in to how many I lost between the grates. Same goes for the peaches. Bigger slices are better. Seems like this post is full of tips for you that I did not use myself…but that’s why I’m here! I can make the dumb mistakes so that you don’t have to, and that pass these nuggets of wisdom along. You’re welcome.

Once the toppings have nice grill marks, take them off the grill and set them aside. It is now time to grill the pizza! Drizzle oil on the crusts and place them flat over a medium-high grill flame. In 2-3 minutes, you should start to see bubbles form on the top side of the crust. At this point, if you check the bottom, you should see nice grill marks, indicating that it is time to flip. The crust should be firm now and easy to flip over. Let the second side cook for 2 minutes, then get ready to top them.

Let’s start with the easy one. For the margarita pizza, spoon on a layer on tomato sauce and top with slices of the fresh mozzarella.

For the sausage and peppers, also start by spooning on a layer of tomato sauce, and then top with the sausage. My peppers needed for grill time, so I left them on while the pizza cooked and then sliced then and added them on at the end.

Lastly, add the shredded mozzarella and the grilled peaches to the crust for the peach and prosciutto pizza. Close the lid and allow these cheeses to melt for 2-3 minutes. Then remove the crusts, and bring them back inside to finish with the remaining toppings.

To finish the margarita pizza, simple add on some fresh basil. For the sausage and peppers pizza, slice up the grilled peppers and lay them overtop of the sausage.

There a few steps left to complete the peach pizza. Spread a pile of arugula over the peaches, add torn prosciutto and lastly drizzle with balsamic glaze.
You can buy the balsamic glaze in the grocery store by the balsamic vinegar. It is a great item to keep in your pantry; it adds a ton of flavor with just a small drizzle – over salads, chicken, tomato and mozzarella, even in sandwiches.

These 3 pizzas are just examples of what you can do with pizza dough on the grill. Use your imagination, take your favorite toppings and give it a shot. Get your kids involved, let them put on the toppings and create a pizza of their own. Have a family backyard picnic and enjoy the sunshine!