With some lovely Japanese eggplant on hand from our CSA this week, my mind immediately went to an Italian classic: Eggplant Parmigiana. Layers of tender eggplant, marinara sauce, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and of course, Parmesan cheese. But instead of the traditional version, I decided to deconstruct the dish and reinvent it as a pizza. Same ingredients hold true for the pizza, except they are all topped on your favorite store-bought or homemade pizza crust. Baked to golden, cheesy and bubbly, this creative pizza is sure to become a household classic, just like its traditional entrée version.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Eggplant Parmesan Pizza
Ingredients:
- (1) ball store-bought or homemade pizza dough, rolled out and fitted onto a 10-inch round pizza pan, covered with parchment paper
- 3 Japanese eggplants, both ends trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup store-bought or homemade marinara/pizza sauce
- 4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, torn
- fresh basil
- grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
Directions:
- Start by roasting the eggplant slices. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees; line a baking sheet with olive oil-sprayed parchment paper. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer; drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a grinding of black pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the eggplant are tender. Once the eggplant is cooked, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- On the prepared crust, arrange the sliced garlic and sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes, to taste. Drizzle on 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
- Next, spread the marinara/pizza sauce on the crust leaving a 1-inch border. Next comes the torn fresh mozzarella cheese over the sauce, then the eggplant once it has roasted. Top the pizza with 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan/Pecorino cheese, and some fresh basil leaves.
- Bake the pizza in the preheated 450 degree oven for 20-22 minutes, or until the crust is browned and puffed, and the cheese melted.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Tagged: eggplant, eggplant parmesan, eggplant parmesan pizza, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese, garlic, marinara sauce, mozarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, pizza, pizza crust, roasted eggplant, tomato sauce
Looks delicious!
A wonderful pizza (and pasta) combination, Leanne! We are growing eggplant in our summer garden, so I’m sure this pizza will be a repeat.