This pizza is unbelievably delicious; an umami bomb, primarily because of the homemade pesto made with fresh basil, parmesan and olive oil. I use prepackaged, precooked, multigrain crust here. Eggplant, bacon, onion and goat cheese are the toppings. I mimicked the look of fresh, melted mozzarella by cutting older blocks of mozzarella into chunks so that they melt in circular shapes, giving the pizza a wood-fired look even though it was cooked in the oven.
Ingredients:
1 large prepackaged pizza crust
1 pack of fresh basil
fresh parmesan (a block about half the size of your palm)
olive oil
1/2 large eggplant, sliced into small cubes
2-4 slices of bacon, cut into small slices
1/3 large onion, sliced
3 tbsp goat cheese
3 1-inch-wide sticks cut from prepackaged large mozzarella block
Preheat oven 450 degrees F. Rub olive oil onto a pizza tray and place the crust onto the tray.
Prepare the pesto by placing the basil and parmesan into a food processor and pouring in enough olive oil to moisten the ingredients. Grind into a paste, then slather the pesto onto the crust.
Saute the eggplant and onion on the stove top until they soften, then stir in the bacon to cook. When that mixture is ready, distribute the topping evenly on the pie.
Place goat cheese chunks throughout the pie. Cut the 3 sticks of mozzarella further into 1-inch cubes and distribute throughout the pie.
Cook the pizza until the crust is a bit crisp on the edge and the mozzarella is fully melted (about 15-20 min.).
ATB 