Summer is great for grilling, and pizza is great for summer. One way to combine these two awesome food experiences is by making grilled pizza. Add in grilled sausages and caramelized onions and this becomes a recipe for entertaining success. This recipe is particularly versatile. Below are three different ingredient options to please a crowd.
Pizza Base
For the base, grab pre-prepared or homemade pizza dough. Mold the dough with your hands to create a pizza shape, and set down on a cookie sheet lightly dusted with flour. Use a brush to brush on a light layer of olive oil on the entire pizza.
Spanish Flare
For a pizza with the sweet and spicy Spanish flavors, choose chorizo, some spicy ham like serrano or another ham. Then mix in fresh provolone, diced Spanish onions, queso fresco, diced tomatoes and blackened poblano chile peppers and red peppers. To blacken the poblano chillies, place on a burner until all sides are charred. Next, wrap them in a towel, and rub off all the charred parts, julienne the peppers and place with the other toppings.
Light Italian Sausage and Veggies
For this pizza, which brings one's tongue to the shores of Italy, switch out the chorizo and ham for sweet Italian sausage and pancetta. Next dice zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes into small pieces. Drizzle olive oil on the veggies and set aside as well. Finally create long slices of onions and set them on a grill to get nice grill lines on the onions. For the cheeses, mozzarella and parmesan are a classic, yet perfect pair.
All-American Breakfast Sausage Pizza
This classic recipe puts a twist on your pizza. Use breakfast sausage, cook some eggs, and dice some onions with green peppers. Add in hash browns and cheddar cheese for the ooey-gooey nostalgic mix.
Assembling and Cooking the Pizza
For the pizza crust. If you are using dough, then cook the dough on a heated up grill. Make sure to keep watch as pizza dough can cook quickly. When one side is cooked and crisp flip it, then add your prepared toppings. Important! Make sure you are using a clean and well-greased grill to make sure that your pizza dough will not stick.
Preparing the toppings
First heat up some oil in a frying pan, then cook the meat until fully heated. Next, take off the heat and set aside. Add the cheeses first, then other toppings to the pizza, leaving the meat for last. For the Italian sausage and veggie pizza, grill the onions and cook the veggies in the frying pan.
Once the cheese melts and the bottom of the pizza cooks some more, remove the pizza and serve on a serving platter.
