Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Grilled Pizza with Figs and Other Delights







Whoever thought of making pizza on the grill deserves a medal from the culinary medal committee. The grill can get much hotter than my inside oven, delivering that crunchy, nearly burnt crust that's so loved and so authentic. I've made it several times in the past, always placing the pizza dough directly on the grates. This time, I wanted to heat up my pizza stone on the grill and toss the dough onto the stone. It really does produce a more even browning, and it's much easier to handle when it comes time to flip it over. The only problem is that until you recognize just how hot the pizza stone can get, you're likely to burn your first attempt. That's what happened to the first round of dough I placed on the stone. It burned in only one minute. That didn't keep my neighbor's daughters, Janie and Annie, from munching on the burnt offering while we were putting together round two of the pizzas.




Get all the toppings ready ahead of time because the cooking goes really fast. In this case, we were making a couple of pizzas - first the pizza with figs, prosciutto and other goodies. I posted about this pizza in my early blogging days when I had no readers other than my family, and it's so delicious I thought it was worth a repeat here. 




Stretch out your pizza dough (purchased or home-made - this one is from a local pizza shop). Toss it on the grill or pizza stone and keep a close watch on it. It will take only a couple of minutes to brown. 




Flip it over and cover with the cheeses, chopped walnuts and the sliced figs.




Remove it from the grill and add the sliced prosciutto and arugula. Last time I posted about this pizza, I added all the toppings and cooked them together, but now I much prefer to layer the prosciutto and arugula after the pizza is cooked. They taste much fresher that way. Drizzle with a little extra balsamic "essenza" or glaze if you've got it. If not, don't fret. It's delicious even without it.




Figs and gorgonzola not your favorite? Just go with a classic topping of tomatoes - in this case grape tomatoes from the garden - mozzarella cheese and basil. A grinding of salt also enhances.







Grilled Pizza 






Buy pizza dough or make your own.


Heat up the grill to highest setting. As it turns out, the highest setting on my grill was too hot and burned the first batch of dough. Experiment to see what temperature works for you.


Cook the first side of the dough directly on the grates or on a pizza stone that you've heated on the grill.


Flip it over and add any toppings you like.


In these two cases:


Pizza with Figs, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola


Cook the first side of the dough as described above. Flip it over onto the grill or pizza stone. I placed figs, chopped walnuts, about two ounces of gorgonzola and four ounces of mozzarella on top and let the cheese melt. It took another two to three minutes and the other side of the dough gets cooked and browned.


Remove to a platter and top with slices of prosciutto and arugula that's been tossed in some oil and vinegar.


Pizza with Grape Tomatoes and Mozzarella


Cook one side of the dough on the grill or pizza stone. Flip it over and top with grape tomatoes, about four ounces of mozzarella, fresh basil and a sprinkling of salt. If I had thought about it ahead of time, I might have cooked the tomatoes whole to caramelize a bit before placing on the top. Either way, it's pretty irresistible.

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17 comments:

  1. Big fan of the grilled stuff.

    And these look molto bene!

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  2. Hello pizza lady!
    No comment, except OH MY!

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  3. Gorgepus pizzas! I wish I had a BBQ to grill my food.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Luscious ingredients, yum! I'm always trying to perfect my grilled pizza, that dough is so tricky. I once saw Bobby Flay cook the dough right on the grill on both sides then slipped it on a baking sheet, adding the ingredients, then placed the sheet and all back on the grill to melt the cheese and finish cooking, I might try that next time, I don't have a baking stone. I will steal all your ingredients!

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  5. Wow- but your pizza looks great. What time is the second seating?

    I love to cook them on the grill. I have cooked the dough directly on the grill, but my fave thing to use is a French black steel baking pan, the kind made by Matfer, They work beautifully, the crust is great and there is no sticking.

    I wasn't kidding about the second seating.

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  6. Who needs an expensive outdoor pizza oven? This looks amazing! I am always afraid to drop raw dough on my grill, so I use a regular pan. I love the smokey taste grilling instills. I must try the Figs, Prosciutto and Gorgonzola pizza combination--yum!

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  7. complimenti, delle pizze fatte a regola d'arte! Buona giornata...

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  8. Never thought to use my pizza stone on my BBQ grill. How long did you let it heat up, Linda? I know I would like this method more than putting the dough directly on the grill. Love the figs and walnuts!

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  9. Looking at those gorgeous pizzas I'm wondering why I haven't made them on the grill more often myself! You're right, the crust is awesome on the grill. Love the arugula and fig pizza!

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  10. I've never tried a grilled pizza but it seems very nice... I'll give it a try, definitely! figs and prosciutto are the best, always!! :D

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  11. I have been reading so much about pizzas lately and yours have the most delicious and delightfully flavorful ingredients Linda! I simply must jump in and try this!
    Ciao,
    Roz

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  12. Never seen a pizza cooked this way, but looks wonderful! Love your choice of toppings, too. It needs to get a little warmer here again to try and make one of these!

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  13. Linda, I forgot to mention something in my previous comment. I've been nurturing the launch of my blog over on Wordpress and have a blogroll running of my favorite blogs with your blog included on it. I'm letting my readers know of this move so that they can follow along when the ultimate day arrives when i end the 'blogger' blog. I can't keep up two blogs due to they time. you can find it at: http://italianbellavita.com

    Thanks for your continual friendship and support.
    Roz

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  14. Both of these looks wonderful! I love figs so that one looks particularly intriguing…

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  15. You are so smart - putting the stone directly on the grill. Amen - must try. Figs and gorgonzola - one can never get too much of them.

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  16. Which pizza stone do you have and how long did you leave it over the coals to bring it to temperature? Full chimney of coals? Love your recipes.

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  17. Tresa - I have the Emile Henry pizza stone - in black. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Emile-Henry-Flame-Pizza-Stone/dp/B003UI8B2S

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