Middle Eastern Pizzas Recipes

MIDDLE EASTERN PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic powder, sumac and tomatoes and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and stretch the pizza dough to fill the pan (it doesn't have to be perfect since this is a rustic pizza). Brush the dough with olive oil and bake until just golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cumin, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the eggplant is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Top the crust with 1 cup sauce, the mozzarella, eggplant mixture, caramelized onion, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes, brushing the crust with olive oil halfway through.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and brush the crust with olive oil again. Top the pizza with the mint.

MIDDLE EASTERN PIZZAS

Steps:

• Sift the flour into a bowl; beat together the egg, oil and milk and stir into the flour. Mix all the ingredients to form a soft dough; turn the mixture out onto a floured board and knead lightly shaping into a ball, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick pan, sauté the onions and garlic until they have just softened, then add the ground beef (or lamb or chicken) and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it is lightly browned; stir in the pinenuts, tomato paste, cumin, sumac, cinnamon and baby spinach leaves, and cook gently for another minute or two, or until the baby spinach leaves have just wilted, then set aside.
• Cut the pastry dough into 4 equal portions and roll out each portion into 30cm x 17cm ovals; spoon the filling over the pastry leaving a 21/2 cm edge.
• Fold the pastry edges over the edges of the filling leaving most of the filling exposed; and seal by twisting the pastry ends; brush the pastry with beaten egg and carefully place the pizzas onto a lightly greased baking tray.
• Bake the pizzas in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.
• Serve the pizzas with dollop of tzatziki.
• NOTES: Because something in tomato paste disagrees with me, when I've made these, I've used a well-drained can of tomatoes and added an Australian bush tomato spice which has a very tomatoey taste; and I've also added a teaspoon of lemon juice.