Sicilian Deep Dish Eggplant Aubergine Pizza Recipes

SICILIAN DEEP DISH EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) PIZZA

Steps:

• Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
• Lightly spoon 2 3/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.
• Add flour, oil and salt to yeast mixture, stirring to form a soft dough.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).
• Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
• Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
• Punch dough down; divide dough in half.
• Roll each half of dough into a 11 inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
• Place the prepared pizza dough into 2 9-inch cake pans that are lightly greased and sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Press dough up the sides of the pan.
• Cover and let rise until puffy-- about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Combine eggplant and next 3 ingredients.
• Place eggplant mixture on a jelly roll pan, spreading evenly.
• Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes, or until tender.
• Remove eggplant from oven and increase oven temperature to 400°F.
• Combine eggplant mixture, artichokes and next 6 ingredients, dividing it equally between the pizza crusts.
• Top with cheese.
• Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until crusts are lightly browned.

DEEP-DISH PIZZA WITH ZUCCHINI, ONION, AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Position oven rack on the 2nd-lowest level in the oven and place a baking stone on the rack; preheat oven to 500°.
• Brush a 14-inch round deep-dish pizza pan with ½ tablespoon olive oil.
• Starting in the middle and using your fingertips, press the dough evenly to cover the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of the pan.
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in the pan for 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet over med-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; swirl pan to coat.
• Add in garlic and onion; stir/saute 3 minutes, until soft but not brown.
• Add in the zucchini and eggplant; continue to saute/stir until the vegetables are crisp-tender and beginning to brown at the edges, about 8 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper; remove pan from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
• Assemble pizza: lightly press the dough up the sides of the pan if it has slid back down.
• Lay half of the mozzarella slices over the pizza dough, overlapping them to cover the dough completely.
• Scatter the cooked vegetables over the top.
• Place the rest of the mozzarella over the top.
• Ladle the tomato sauce evenly over the mozzarella; sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Place pizza in the oven on the baking stone and decrease heat to 450°.
• Bake about 30 minutes, until the crust is crisp and a deep golden brown and the cheese is golden.
• Remove pizza from oven and place on a wire rack to cool 5-7 minutes.
• Use a knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan; cut pizza into large wedges and then slide a metal spatula under the bottom of the crust to remove and lift out wedges; serve immediately.