Grilled Pizza With Ricotta And Pesto Food

GRILLED PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza dough: Place the all-purpose flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and water; once added, continue mixing for 1 minute.
• Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until smooth.
• Divide the dough into 3 even pieces and form into balls. Spray with cooking oil and then place in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days for best flavor. (See Cook's Note.)
• When ready to bake, transfer each dough ball to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Make the pizza pies: Preheat a gas grill to 500 degrees F or get a charcoal grill as hot as you can. Lightly dust a work surface with all-purpose flour.
• For each pizza: Gently flatten a piece of dough with the palm of your hand and then roll it into a 10- to 11-inch round, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Don't worry if it's not perfectly or even barely round; just make sure it's of uniform thickness (even if it's the shape of a beaver tail!).
• Sprinkle a pizza peel with semolina flour and transfer the stretched dough to the peel. (If you don't have a peel, use the back of an upturned sheet pan instead.) Slide the dough directly onto the grill. Cook until golden grill marks appear, about 1 minute per side; use tongs to flip.
• For the white pizza: In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta and fontina cheeses along with the thyme, rosemary, honey and some salt and pepper. Brush a grilled crust with olive oil. Spread with the cheese mixture in an even layer. Use the peel to return the pizza to the grill. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and the crust is fully browned. Remove from the grill and top with the prosciutto and arugula.
• For the margherita pizza: Brush a grilled crust with olive oil and spread evenly with the marinara sauce. Top with the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Use the peel to transfer the pizza to the grill. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Remove from grill and top with torn basil.

GRILLED PIZZA WITH PROSCIUTTO, RICOTTA AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Finely grate the zest of the lemon; cut the lemon in half and reserve. Stir together the ricotta, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Set aside.
• Divide the pizza dough into 2 balls. Sprinkle the flour on a clean flat surface and roll each ball into an oval about 14 inches long, 6 or 7 inches across and between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the crusts to the prepared baking sheet. Brush both sides of each crust with olive oil, about 1 tablespoon per side, and lightly sprinkle with salt.
• Lightly oil the grill grates. Grill the crusts until they start to puff and distinct grill marks appear, about 1 minute. Flip and cook until just cooked through, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Discard the used parchment paper and put the finished crusts on the baking sheet.
• Immediately top each crust evenly with prosciutto. Place small dollops of the ricotta mixture over the prosciutto. Toss the arugula in a bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the juice of one of the lemon halves (reserve the other half for another use). Season with salt and pepper. Divide the arugula between the pizzas and serve.

GRILLED PESTO PIZZA

Steps:

• Preparation instructions:
• Prepare the dough: Whisk 1 cup warm water (about 105 degrees F) and the sugar in
• a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over top. Let stand until foamy, about 10
• minutes. Stir in olive oil.
• Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in the
• yeast mixture and stir to make a shaggy dough. Place dough on a floured surface
• and knead about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour
• to prevent it from sticking. Form into a ball, place in a large oiled bowl, turning to
• coat with the oil. Turn seam-side down and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at
• room temperature about 1 hour, 30 minutes, until doubled in size. Meanwhile,
• preheat a grill to medium high (if using a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one
• side) and grill the toppings.
• Add vegetables to grill, cook until tender or:
• Onion: Cut 1 medium red onion into 8 wedges. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil
• and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until soft, about 10 minutes; slice.
• Mushrooms: Toss 8 oz. stemmed shiitake mushrooms with 3 tablespoons olive
• oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning, until soft, about 2 minutes per
• side; cut in half.
• Remove and arrange the grilled vegetables on a baking sheet, season with salt
• and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Add the remaining toppings to the baking
• sheet; place near the grill.
• Grill Sausage, remove and coin slice.
• Reduce the grill heat to medium-low (on a charcoal grill, spread the coals into
• a single layer and let cool until they are covered in a light gray ash). Divide the
• dough in half and dust the dough and work surface with flour. Roll each piece
• into a 7 x 12" rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Brush baking sheet with olive oil
• and place both crusts on it. Lift each piece by the corners and place on the grill,
• oiled-side down; cook about five minutes until the dough puffs and the underside
• is stiff and marked.
• Flip the dough with tongs, brush with olive oil, spread with the pesto sauce and
• top with mozzarella. Arrange the grilled vegetables and sliced sausage on top.
• Cover and cook about five more minutes or until the cheese melts.
• Remove pizzas from grill and transfer the pizzas to a cutting board. Top with the
• greens, basil, a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Cut and enjoy!
• *Always cook sausage to internal temperature of 160 degrees F

GRILLED PESTO PIZZA WITH MARINATED MOZZARELLA AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Add to a high-powered blender the basil, arugula, Parmesan, garlic and a pinch of salt and blend while streaming in the mozzarella oil until smooth. Taste and add salt as needed. Set aside.
• Preheat an outdoor grill to high (500 to 550 F.) While your grill is heating, lightly oil a large sheet pan (or 3 half-sheet pans) and place your dough balls on top. Use your fingers to stretch the pizza dough balls into a loose circle or oval about 1/8-inch-thick. Don't get too hung up on the shape, irregular is beautiful. Work your way around the dough to make sure that it's an even thickness throughout. Lightly brush oil on the top of the dough as well. Lightly sprinkle the tomatoes with salt.
• Place your doughs on the hot grill and close the lid. Cook until golden brown char marks appear and the doughs are cooked on the underside, 2 to 3 minutes. Open the lid of the grill, flip the doughs over and quickly spoon the pesto over top of the cooked side leaving a little border for the crust. Top with the sliced tomatoes and marinated mozzarella. Close the lid and cook until the cheese melts and the doughs are completely cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and enjoy.

PESTO, RICOTTA AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO PIZZAS

Steps:

• Pizza crusts -- Grill one side just until lightly brown, then flip and brush the top side with pesto. Grill just another minute until heated through and the bottom side is lightly toasted. This can be done in the oven or on the grill. I prefer the grill for this if possible.
• Cheese -- Mix the ricotta with the tomatoes, salt and pepper and spread over the warm pesto pizzas. Garnish with fresh basil and slice in 4-6 pieces as an appetizer.
• The best light appetizer that is healthy but packs tons of flavor.

HAM & RICOTTA PIZZAS WITH PESTO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place a flat baking sheet in the oven to heat up. Spread 2 tbsp tomato sauce on each pizza base. Carefully slide the bases onto the baking sheet and cook following pack instructions.
• Five mins before the cooking time is up, scatter over the ham, dot the ricotta on top in spoonfuls and continue cooking. Season and drizzle the pesto over each pizza.

GRILLED PIZZA WITH RICOTTA AND PESTO

Steps:

• Prepare a medium-hot fire in your grill, or heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat.
• Roll the pizza dough into 8 small pizzas, each about 1/8-inch thick and 3 inches round.
• Lightly brush both sides of the pizzas with oil. Grill the pizzas over medium heat until the first side is nicely browned and firm to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the pizzas over on the grill. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of pesto on each pizza, spreading it to the edges. On top of each pizza, spoon 4 teaspoons of ricotta cheese, in little balls. Cook the pizzas until the ricotta just begins to melt, 3 to 5 minutes from the moment you turned the pizzas. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top of each pizza. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve warm.
• Entertaining Notes: You don't need to make your own dough, not for a party of 8 people. Buy it from a local pizzeria. To work ahead, roll the dough into rounds about a half hour before your guests arrive and stack them, dusted with flour, at room temperature, between sheets of parchment paper.