Grilled Zucchini Pizza

Fire up your grill to recreate a wood-fired oven environment and bake this zucchini pizza.  You will have a delicious pizza in about three to five minutes!

I'm really excited about this pizza dough recipe. First, you can make the dough in advance and let it rise in the refrigerator.

Plus, this dough requires no extra bulk fermentation. Instead, you mix the dough, divide it, and let it rise either at room temperature or in the refrigerator, or a combination of both, depending upon when you want to bake your pizza.

I made the dough on a Thursday, divided it, and let each dough ball rise at room temperature in individual covered containers for about an hour, and then placed them in the refrigerator until Saturday, two days later.

The dough was super easy to shape and bake, and the resulting pizza was thin, crispy, and amazing with a delicious airy crust.

You can also make the dough, divide it, let it sit at room temperature for four hours, and then use it the same day. The dough is very stable and can be made and then baked over 1 to 3 days.

How to make pizza on the grill:

This method and recipe is for simulating a wood fired pizza oven. With this pizza, I used an Emile Henry pizza stone. It withstands super high heat, and helps you turn your grill into a pizza oven. If you don't have one, you can also use a cast iron pizza pan. (Amazon affiliate links). 

Rest assured, you can also bake this pizza in your oven if you don't have a grill. It just takes a little longer, depending upon how high your oven's temperature can go.

To make the pizza on the grill, heat the grill to its highest temperature with a stone or cast iron pizza pan placed on the grill grates. Slide the pizza onto the stone, close the grill cover, and bake the pizza until done, approximately three minutes or more, depending on the temperature.

Ingredients in this grilled zucchini pizza:

For the crust, you will need flour, water, salt, and a tiny bit of yeast.... and time. Time = flavor when it comes to dough.

To top each pizza, you will need just about 3 tablespoons of your favorite marinara sauce, either homemade or store bought. I like to use a whiskey ice cube tray (affiliate link) to freeze leftover marinara sauce just for this purpose. The ice cube trays portion the sauce perfectly. P.S. I also use the trays for homemade stock.

You will also need thinly sliced fresh garlic, shredded mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

I also love adding pizza seasoning. My two favorites are from King Arthur Flour and Penzey's Spices. The one from King Arthur Flour includes dried onion, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. The one from Penzey's include salt, fennel seed, oregano, sugar, garlic, black pepper, basil, onion, crushed red pepper and cayenne red pepper.

I used both this time!
 

The star of this pizza is zucchini that you thinly slice, toss in salt, and drain in a strainer to remove extra water before topping the pizza. By draining off excess moisture, your pizza won't be too soggy, and the flavors of the zucchini will be concentrated.

I loved using the extra zucchini slices in salads with sliced cherry tomatoes dressed with olive oil and sherry vinegar.

Raw zucchini prepared this way is also wonderful tossed into scrambled eggs or omelettes with some tomato, chopped red onion, and even home fried potatoes. I also tossed them with some pasta, marinara sauce, and mozzarella and baked the mixture for 15 minutes. So good.

I topped the finished pizza with some thinly sliced scallions and crushed red pepper.

The crust on this pizza is thin and crispy, and the outer crust is super crunchy and airy. I often skip the outer crust when I have a slice of pizza, but not with this one. I ate every bite.

The recipe for this pizza crust can be doubled or even multiplied by 5 to make ten pizzas (perfect for a pizza party or a week of pizzas for your family). Each pizza is about 12 inches in diameter, making the dough pretty easy to handle.

To make this pizza in your oven, heat the oven as high as it will go with a baking stone on the middle rack. Bake the prepared pizza until it is crispy on the bottom and nicely browned on top. If the bottom is done but the top is pale, just switch to the broiler and watch the pizza closely.

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is a Vegetarian BBQ, and our host is Susan who blogs at The Wimpy Vegetarian.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location. With Progressive Eats it's a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious grilling inspired dishes!

If your guests include some carnivores, just sneak some pepperoni on top of these pizzas before grilling.

A Vegetarian BBQ

Cocktails

• Grilled Stone Fruit Sangria - The Red Head Baker
• Chia Limeade (non-alcoholic) - Shockingly Delicious

Appetizer

• Tomato Caprese Tart - The Wimpy Vegetarian

Main Course

• Grilled Zucchini Pizza - Karen's Kitchen Stories

Desserts

• Grilled Plum and Port Parfaits - The Heritage Cook
• Browned Butter Blondies with White Chocolate Chips and Toasted Pecans - Creative Culinary

Grilled Zucchini Pizza

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Yield: 8 servings (2 twelve inch pizzas)

Author: Karen Kerr

Fire up your grill to recreate a wood-fired oven environment and bake this zucchini pizza. You will have a delicious pizza in about three to five minutes!

Ingredients:

For the Crust

• 340 grams bread flour
• 221 grams water
• Scant 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 6 grams salt
• Olive oil for coating the dough
• Coarse corn meal, polenta, or semolina

For the Toppings

• 1 small to medium zucchini
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• All of the pizza dough
• Pizza seasoning to taste (see note above)
• 6 tablespoons marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 10 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives

Instructions:

To Make the Pizza Dough

1. Combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. This step is called autolyse. 
2. Add the yeast and salt to the dough and mix by hand or mixer for about 5 minutes. The final dough should be smooth and tacky. 
3. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a ball. Coat each ball with olive oil and place them into small containers or dough box, cover, and let rise for 4 to 5 hours before using. Alternatively, let rise at room temperature for about an hour and then refrigerate for up to three days. 
4. When ready to bake, sprinkle a pizza peel with polenta, coarse corn meal, or semolina, and stretch the dough out into a 12 inch disk.  Top with your favorite pizza toppings. Be sure to leave a rim around the edge. 
5. Bring your grill, with a cast iron or Emile Henry stone on top, to 600 to 700 degrees F. 
6. Slide the pizzas, one at a time, onto the stone and bake for 3 to 5 minutes each, covered, until done. 
7. Remove with a pizza peel, slice, and serve. 

Zucchini Pizza Topping

1. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then thinly slice. Place the slices into a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and toss with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. 
2. Let the slices sit for at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, to drain. 
3. Wrap the zucchini slices in paper towels and squeeze out any excess moisture. Set aside. 
4. Lightly sprinkle each dough disk with pizza seasoning. 
5. Spread each dough disk with 3 tablespoons of the marinara sauce, leaving the rim untouched. 
6. Cover each disk with 5 ounces each of shredded mozzarella and then divide the sliced garlic among the two pizzas. 
7. Arrange the zucchini slices among the pizzas in a circular pattern. You may have some left over. That's okay. Save them for salads or omelettes. 
8. Divide the shredded Parmesan among the pizzas and then sprinkle with more pizza seasoning and crushed red pepper. 
9. Lightly drizzle each pizza with a tablespoon of olive oil. 
10. Bake according to the above directions and then top with fresh chives. 
11. Slice and serve. 

Calories
387.82

Fat (grams)
17.45

Sat. Fat (grams)
7.23

Carbs (grams)
40.31

Fiber (grams)
1.99

Net carbs
38.32

Sugar (grams)
2.12

Protein (grams)
16.91

Sodium (milligrams)
982.29

Cholesterol (grams)
36.43

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/07/grilled-zucchini-pizza.html

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The formula for this dough was adapted from one of my favorite bread books, From the Wood-Fired Oven: New and Traditional Techniques for Cooking and Baking with Fire by Richard Miscovich. The original recipe is for enough dough for 10 pizzas! The book is amazing and perfect for people who want to bake bread outdoors. Even if you don't want to bake outdoors, the recipes are wonderful.

He credits Maggie Glezer's bread baking classic, Artisan Baking Across America for the inspiration.

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