Eggplant & Ricotta Pizza

Its Friday! That means it's time for another Your Recipe- My Kitchen Post.

The idea for this recipe started when I was in Publix.  I love to buy their bakery pizza dough and I picked some up the other day.  By the time I got to the last aisle, I realized I didn't have a plan for the pizza.  The last aisle is the dairy section so I looked over and saw the ricotta and I immediately thought of using it for the pizza and then I remembered seeing a beautiful eggplant back in produce so I ran back and grabbed it.  I knew I was going to create a pizza with these items.  When I got home I did a quick search on line to see if I could find a similar recipe, I found a few but I really liked the one I saw from Pink Parsley.  I changed the recipe a bit but what I loved most was the way the eggplant was fanned out -so I copied it.  I loaded mine with mozzarella to make it more appealing to the kids and it worked and guess what else?  I decided to peel the eggplant to make it look less like a vegetable (all in hopes of tricking little man into adding a new vege to his rotation) and it worked.  Little Man ate an entire piece and asked for seconds.  After dinner I told Little Man I was so proud if him.  I said, "guess what -you know how you only like cucumbers, tomatoes and broccoli and no other vegetables?"  "well, you just ate eggplant and loved it - I am so proud of you!!"  He told me he hated eggplant and didn't really like his dinner.  I learned my lesson - just feed him and keep my mouth shut.  Enjoy!!

Recipe adapted from Pink Parsley

What you need:

pizza dough

1 eggplant

1 cup ricotta

mozzarella (I used fresh and cut enough circles to cover the eggplant)

olive oil

1/3 cup parmigiana cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

cornmeal, for sprinkling

What you do:

I peeled my eggplant but you can decide if you want to do this,  Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices and arrange on a baking sheet.  Brush the slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Broil, turning once, until golden brown about 10 minutes.  Set aside.

Place your pizza stone in a 500 degree oven and let heat for 30 minutes.  Combine ricotta, 1/4 cup parmigiana, garlic, basil, parsley and red pepper in a bowl.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Sprinkle parchment paper with cornmeal and stretch your dough out to about 12 inches in diameter.  Brush the outer edge with oil and then spread the ricotta on the dough leaving a border all around. 

Slide pizza on to stone  and bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and quickly arrange the eggplant on the ricotta, you can fan it out like I did, then top with mozzarella slices and remaining parmigiana, salt and pepper.  Bake until eggplant browns and mozzarella melts, about 4 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before slicing.

I served this pizza with tomatoes topped with sliced mozzerella and fresh basil from the garden.  I sprikled olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper on top.

I was afraid Hubby was going to need more than just a slice or two of eggplant pizza so I served a bowl of some pasta sauce from the night before with sausage in it on the side.  I figured he could top his pizza with it if he was missing the meat in the meal.  The sauce went well with it but wasn't necessary.

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