Wunder Fudzen

Isn't she pretty?  God, there is just something about pizza.  Call it a flatbread, call it a pie, call it deep-dish, call it cracker-crust, call it 'za (or please don't because that's just really lame)---it's so alluring.  I don't know that it's possible for me to dislike pizza, any pizza, even really bad pizza.  It's one of those things, like dumplings, I think (oh, the wonder of the dumpling; extant in all cultures; universally delicious) that are good even when they're baaaad.  

I had a hunk of defrosted pizza dough in the fridge for about a week, and it wasn't as springy and fluffy and gorgeous as it once had been, and it certainly wouldn't stretch (hahaha) far enough to feed two for dinner.  But I also had chicken marinating in a tuscan marinade, and I was at a loss at how to get pizza to be a side dish for chicken and zucchini. 

Then, I discovered, just call it a Mediterranean flatbread--problem solved!

I grilled the chicken (skewered) and some thick zucchini slices, then moved them to the top rack to keep warm.  I had stretched the dough into two 7" rounds, well floured, and brushed one side with olive oil.  Throw the oiled side on the grill and let it go for a minute or two, rotating and checking for hotspots and over-char.  The dough will cook (and burn) really fast.  Once one side is cooked, remove from the grill and place raw-side down on an oiled cookie sheet.  Top the cooked side and throw the uncooked, now oiled side back on the grill; close the lid until cheese is melted and the the crust is crisp.


The key, I find, is using a dry dough, small rounds, and very light toppings. You don't want wet dough at all--it will fall through the grates before it has time to toughen up.  Bigger rounds are too hard to maneuver on the grill.  And you only have a few precious minutes once the pizzas are topped to cook them, so go really, really easy on the toppings.  I used bit of mozzerella, 3-4 halved tomato slices, torn basil, chopped kalamatas (on one) and a sprinkle of feta.

Aren't they pretty?