Sicilian Deep Dish Eggplant (Aubergine) Pizza

Submitted by Geema

"There is a lot of flavor in this delicious pizza, and since the recipe was found in Cooking Light Annual Recipes for 1999, it's not loaded with fat. I'm sure you could add some of your favorite pizza toppings, like pepperoni, red pepper flakes, olives, etc. to make even better."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Yields: 2 pizzas

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.)
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 4 cups diced peeled eggplants
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup drained artichoke heart
• 1 cup cubed tomatoes (1/2 inch)
• 1 cup minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

directions

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

Reviews

[brushjl]

This was just ok. I used store bought crust.

 

[Kittencalrecipezazz]

Great recipe! I used my own pizza crust recipe for this. I love the combination of the eggplant with artichokes, it is definately not for someone with a palette for plain flavor. I omitted the rosemary and fennel seeds, otherwise I made as stated. I did prepare the eggplant mixture hours in advance. I think that this would also be good on top of foccacia. Thanks Geema!...Kitten:)