Turn off that oven. GRILL your pizza instead! Try mine… a crisp, chewy crust topped with creamy ricotta and grilled garlicky zucchini. #ILOVESUMMERFOOD
I’m not a big hashtag-er, but “# I love summer food” is exactly how I’m feeling!
There have been two meals that have been on repeat at our house over the last 6 weeks. They NEVER get boring.
Tacos and pizza!
And understandably so. With the bounty of the season, and endless toppings and fillings, there is NO shortage of new and interesting dinners!
This week, I’m featuring pizza! And not just pizza, GRILLED PIZZA.
I love my pizza stone, but when you put the dough directly on the grill grates, a different sort of magic happens. The dough gets pillowy and soft, with a slight crisp on the outside, and that unmistakable char from the grill.
And with the grill hot, why not grill up fresh summer zucchini for the topping? Extra char, extra flavor. It gets tossed, still warm, in garlicky wine vinegar, which infuses it with even more zestiness.
Here’s how it goes. Stretch out your dough and coat it in plenty of olive oil to keep it from sticking. Cook it on one side for a few minutes, then flip it over. Smear with the most ethereal lemony ricotta and feta cream (with a little more garlic because, yum garlic), then top with the zucchini. Scatter with fresh basil and pine nuts before serving.
A Note on Dough Proportions:
Using a ball of store-bought pizza dough makes this a super simple summer meal, but make sure to check the weight, which is usually printed on the label. This recipe uses a pound of dough, and I’ve seen the packages come in every size from 8-ounces to 2 pounds! It doesn’t have to be precisely 1 pound down to the gram, but try to get close so that the proportions are correct.
Grilled Zucchini Pizza with Creamy Ricotta & Feta
Ingredients
- 16- ounce ball pizza dough
- 3 medium zucchini 1 ½ pounds
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- 1 garlic clove grated
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for sprinkling on the zucchini
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly cracked black pepper
For the ricotta mixture
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 ounces crumbled feta a scant ½ cup
- ½ lemon juice and zest
- 1 small garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For finishing
- Pine nuts toasted
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- If you have purchased refrigerated pizza dough, let it come to room temperature. Once it has, preheat your grill.
- Put the vinegar, honey, mint, garlic and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl.
- Slice the zucchini ⅛-inch thick lengthwise. Brush both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and place on your grill over medium heat. Cook, turning two or three times, until softened and cooked through. Place the zucchini directly into the bowl with the vinegar mixture and toss to coat. Let it sit to absorb the flavors for 5-10 minutes.
- Zest the lemon using a fine rasp grater, you should get about ½ teaspoon, and place the zest in a small bowl. Use the same grater to grate the garlic into the bowl, then squeeze the lemon juice over top, removing any seeds (I like to turn my grater over the bowl and squeeze the lemon over top, allowing the grater to act like a strainer, catching any seeds). Let the juice and garlic sit for a few minutes, which will take some of the sharpness away from the garlic. Stir in the ricotta, feta and salt and mash together, breaking up any large lumps of feta.
- Pour a generous amount of olive oil onto a rimmed baking sheet and coat the dough in the oil. Stretch it out (any shape is fine) to about 1/4 -inch thick, making sure both sides are well coated in olive oil to prevent sticking. Take it to your grill, along with some tongs or a grill spatula, and the zucchini and ricotta. Place the dough directly onto the grates and cook over medium heat for two minutes with the lid open. Carefully flip the dough and spread the ricotta out evenly, leaving a border. Lay the zucchini on top of the pesto, then close the grill and let it cook for 5 minutes, turning the heat to low if you have a gas grill. Keep an eye on the bottom, watching so that it doesn’t burn. Move the pizza around if you have hot spots.
- When pizza is finished, remove to a cutting board and top with the fresh basil and pine nuts. Serve hot.
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