We have established that I love pizza and like experimenting with different sauces and toppings. In case you have missed that here , here , here and here I decided to make it clear by sharing one more refreshing pizza recipe. (The refreshing part is because this is definitely not your usual pizza)

A while back I posted a recipe for Eggplant, tomato, and smoked cheese pie. It is one of my favorite pies because it is truly a melody of flavors and you don’t even have to like eggplants  to enjoy it. So when I was craving pizza but not really wanting to make any of my usual recipes I decided to make a pizza inspired by those flavors and so this recipe was born .

I served this with an eggplant salad that resonates with the same flavors in the pizza and they complimented each other beautifully.

 

Eggplant arugula pizza

Pizza dough (recipe here)

Topping

Eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided

1/2  teaspoon  olive oil

2  garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2  teaspoon dried basil

1/2  teaspoons dried oregano

1/2  teaspoons  dried mint

Plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Smoked frico cheese

1  tablespoons  grated fresh Parmesan

Arugula  leaves to top the baked pizza with

To prepare topping, arrange eggplant on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Sprinkle eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 15 minutes.

Pat dry with paper towels; brush eggplant with oil. Arrange eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Place them under the broiler till they are golden brown then take them out and flip them and brown the other side. Stack eggplant slices on a plate; cover with plastic wrap. Let eggplant stand 7 minutes to steam.

Place a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, basil, oregano, mint, and tomatoes.

Arrange the smoked cheese on the crust

Layer eggplant and tomato mixture on the crust; drizzle with the oil you cooked the garlic in.

Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan  and a dash of oregano

 Bake at 240 C oven in the middle rack for 10 minutes or until your crust is done and the cheese melts

Allow to cool for a couple of minutes then sprinkle some arugula leaves on top

Tahini Yogurt Eggplant salad (My friend Rana’s recipe)

1 medium eggplant peeled and cut into cubes and fried (or you could prepare the eggplant as stated in the pizza topping then cut it into cubes)

2 Tomatoes cut into cubed

Parsley roughly chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

Dressing

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon yogurt

Dash of salt

Mix the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Mix the salad ingredients then add the dressing and toss to coat