Grrrrilled Pizza Party!

Sitting by the fire...

For my birthday, I wanted to indulge. And not in alcohol, but in pizza and cake (cake post coming soon)! I actually indulged in fresh caught Alaska Salmon as well. It didn't sit all that well with me. :(

I know pizza is a huge part of the runners food group, but I just don't eat it anymore! I'm possibly wheat intolerant. Which is sad. I'm still testing it out. All I know is I can actually breathe through my nose when I don't eat it. To be on the safe side, for my pizza, I used an oat crust.

If you've never grilled pizza before, it is very easy, quick and you get that oven fired crunch. It's also a great party idea. Small party idea. Last night we had a couple people over and it was top your own crust. Monday we had a large potluck, and it was bring a dish etc. Anymore than 4-5 people and the grill will either not be big enough, and/or you won't all eat together.

I kind of threw these crusts together, but I was very happy with how they turned out.

Speedy Pizza Crust
2 1/4 tsp Yeast
1 1/4 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 C Spelt Flour/Brown Rice Flour Mix (any lighter flour will work)
1 C Warm water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbs mixed herbs (I did oregano, basil and garlic powder)

In a bowl, mix yeast and honey with wrist temp warm water. Stir until dissolved. Let sit for a few minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt.

Make a well in the middle, pour in yeast mixture, oil and water. Stir until loose ball forms. Knead until elastic. Leave in oiled bowl for however long you want. I was busy with other fixin's so it sat for about 30 minutes and doubled in that time! However, you can use this immediately, it does not have to rise.

Once risen, you can divide this into at least 2 very large crusts, I divided into 5 nice thin crusts- the size of my pizza stone. Roll out on floured surface. The smaller they are, the easier they handle on the grill.

Roll out thin, but not too thin... like 1/4-1/2 inch. Lay on a plate, dust with cornmeal/ground flaxseed. Layer with another crust. Repeat.

On the grill:
On preheated/low heat grill, carefully place one crust over low flame. watch closely.. about 3-5 minutes, turn. Cook this side only until done.. not too brown. Remember that once the toppings are on, the crust will cook even more. You do want it done at this point though.

Take crusts off grill. Top with your favorite veggies. Place crusts back on grill. Close the lid. And check every few minutes. The veggies will still be a little on the fresh side, which I personally love. If you have cheese, it will definitely melt quickly. We use the top rack of the grill to keep the crusts from over cooking before the toppings are done. If your grill only has one rack, just watch closely, or pre-cook your veggies a tad.

Voila! Pizza on the grill!

I made the above recipe for my company and hubs. For myself, (trying to avoid wheat/most flours) I made a pizza crust out of oats. I tried sneaking oat flour into all of my little sisters pizza crusts/pancakes/cookies. And until she caught me blending oats, it worked! haha!

Oat Pizza Crust
2 C Oat Flour (can be easily made in food processor/blender)
2 1/4 tsp Yeast (can be made without)
1 C Warm Water
1 tsp Honey
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Rosemary, crushed in your hand

In one bowl, dissolve yeast, honey and water.  Let sit a few minutes.

In another stir together flour, rosemary, and salt.

Make a well in the flour bowl, pour in yeast mixture, water and oil. Stir well. The mixture will be really wet. I made the mistake of chit chatting with a girl friend as I made this up and I though.. oh my.. not enough flour.. so I made/added more (which you can tell in the photos-I didn't grind completely). What I wasn't thinking about was that the oats would absorb the water and become a manageable dough.. so what I ended up with was a drier, more crumbly dough that I had planned for, but they taste was still amazing!! The amounts above are correct (or at least close).

Once the oats absorb the water (about 10 minutes), form into a ball, and make as many crust as you can get for the size you want (this makes a good bit of dough, at least 2 medium large crusts-I made 6 small ones).

Layer on a plate being sure to sprinkle cornmeal/ground flax in between each crust to keep from sticking. If your dough is sticky, add more oats. You don't want to put sticky dough on the grill!

I loaded mine with cilantro pesto, zucchini, olives and garlic. I wasn't able to get a photo of mine, but snapped some pics of the leftovers.

Follow the grilling instructions above! Enjoy!

We were lucky enough to have fresh canned basic tomato sauce (like paste.. but not so thick) but you can use a can of tomato paste/sauce from the store.. or cook down a bunch of tomatoes (seeded and drained) from your garden, then pureed.

Basic Pizza Sauce
1 C Tomato Sauce (if using paste-add water until sauce consistency)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs mixed herbs (basil, oregno, thyme, tarragon, and garlic powder are classic)
1/2 tsp honey or other sweetener

We added 1 Tbs of nutritional yeast to ours. You can experiment with other add ins such as fruit jam, hot sauce, or molasses/mustard/spices for a BBQ sauce.

Mix well, let sit for a little while to soften the dried herbs if possible. Not necessary though. THis recipe works well for marinara as well, with a few minor adjustments (add chopped garlic, 1 tsp of olive oil, up the sweetener/salt).

Super easy and a great alternative to fresh basil pesto. Cilantro can be easier to find and less expensive.

Cilantro Pesto 
1 bunch fresh Cilantro
2-5 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs ground Almonds
1 tsp Salt
1-2 Tbs Parmesean (optional)

So it basically follows basil pesto (which is basil, olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts, salt and pepper). But, you don't always have pine nuts or basil on hand. I made mine without cheese, and it was awesome! Salt is more to taste, start with less, especially if you add Parm.