Pizza Night, Part I: Grilled Ortolona Pizza with Zucchini, Eggplant, and Olives

Ortolana pizza? That's just the Italian word for "vegetable.''
Ortolana pizza? That’s just the Italian word for “vegetable.”

If left to his own devices, my husband would happily eat pizza every day. For every meal.

So, it’s no wonder that we’re always up for trying a new pizza recipe.

The latest: “Grilled Ortolona Pizza with Zucchini, Eggplant, and Olives.”

It’s a recipe from “Pizza Night” (Clarkson Potter) of which I received a review copy. Written by Alexandra Stafford, the New York-based creator of the blog, Alexandra’s Kitchen, it has a two-for-one format: Every pizza recipe comes complete with an accompanying salad recipe.

Stafford divides the book by seasons, and includes five different dough recipes: “Neapolitanish,” “Sourdough Neapolitanish,” “Thin-Crust,” “Pan Pizza,” and “Gluten-Free Pizza.”

Summer brings “Peach Pizza with Jalapeno, Prosciutto, and Creme Fraiche” with “Cucumber Salad with Red Onion and Burrata.” Fall arrives with “Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Gruyere and Rosemary” accompanied by “Classic Kale Salad with Pepper Flakes, Parmesan, and Lemon Vinaigrette.” Winter is hearty with “Hot Italian Sausage and Giardiniera Pizza with Mozzarella” with “Shaved Fennel Salad with Parmesan and Pomegranate.” And spring gets sprung with “Asparagus and Prosciutto Slab Pizza” with “Butter Lettuce Salad with Pea Shoots, Dill, Chives, and Tarragon.”

Zucchini is shredded, sauteed, then mashed to spread on the pizza crust.
Zucchini is shredded, sauteed, then mashed to spread on the pizza crust.

Because they are lengthy, the dough and pizza recipes are provided to you in this post and the accompanying salad recipe (“Summer Wedge Salad with Charred Corn, Tomatoes, and Herby Ranch Dressing” will publish in my upcoming Wednesday post. And because of their length, it pays to read through the dough and pizza recipes thoroughly at least once — if not twice — before starting.

This pizza is built on Stafford’s “Thin Crust,” made with finely milled “00” flour that provides great elasticity in the dough and semola rimacinata, a high-protein flour made from durum wheat that helps create a crisp yet pliable texture. However, if you don’t have either, Stafford recommends just using all-purpose flour. I ended up using a mix of “00” and all-purpose.

The dough undergoes an initial proofing of 6 to 10 hours at room temperature until it doubles in size. Then, it’s portioned into four balls, each wrapped separately. If you have saved any of those quart-size plastic takeout containers with lids, these are ideal for this use. Store the containers of dough in the fridge for 1 to 3 days to develop a deeper yeasty taste.

The crust is partially grilled before being topped, then returned to the grill one last time.
The crust is partially grilled before being topped, then returned to the grill one last time.

When ready to make your pizzas, allow the dough to come to room temperature for about 2 hours. Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll it out, place it on your pizza peel and transfer to your heated grill. Stafford gives slightly different directions for cooking the pizza, depending on whether you’re using a gas or charcoal grill. They are included below.

Once the crust is partially grilled, you’re ready to top the pizza. You’re probably scratching your head as I was upon seeing the recipe title, “ortolona pizza.” At first I thought it might have something to do with the banned little hunting birds known as ortolans. But rest assured, it does not. Indeed, as Stafford explains, “ortolona” is Italian for “vegetable.”

This is a vegetarian pizza with plenty of melty mozzarella, plus cubes of sauteed eggplant, and briny kalamata olives. Those get scattered over a thin layer of shredded zucchini that is sauteed with oil, garlic and chile pepper flakes, then mashed into a paste.

The mashed zucchini almost plays the role that pesto would, adding vibrant color plus a hint of sweet grassiness plus subtle heat from the pepper flakes.

Once topped, the pizza goes back on the grill to finish cooking until the cheese is melted.

The pizza with the "Summer Wedge Salad with Charred Corn, Tomatoes, and Herby Ranch Dressing'' in the background.
The pizza with the “Summer Wedge Salad with Charred Corn, Tomatoes, and Herby Ranch Dressing” in the background.

The toppings make for a satisfying Mediterranean-influenced vegetarian pizza that has plenty of heft, thanks to the meatiness of the eggplant and olives.

This is the first time we’ve cooked pizza dough directly on the grill grates like this. While the crust came out nicely crisp, I found the texture rather one-dimensional. It was more like flatbread, without any hills and valleys in the crust.

Usually, we actually cook our pizzas on the grill atop a pizza stone, first rolling out the dough, then topping it, before transferring it to the stone to cook in one fell swoop. Just for the heck of it, we cooked half of the pizzas on the grill grates and the other half on the pizza stone. Honestly, I liked the pizza stone version better, because it created a more varied texture — crisp in the center along with some nice, chewy air holes along the rim.

But feel free to use either method. Just note that while the dough recipe below makes four balls of dough, the actual “Grilled Ortolona Pizza with Zucchini, Eggplant, and Olives” recipe below makes one pizza. So, if you are using this topping for all of your dough balls, you’ll want to quadruple the ingredients.

A veggie-licious flatbread-like pizza.
A veggie-licious flatbread-like pizza.

Grilled Ortolona Pizza with Zucchini, Eggplant, and Olives

(Makes one 14-by-9-inch oval pizza)

1 ball Thin-Crust Pizza Dough (recipe below)

All-purpose flour, for dusting

For toppings:

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

1 zucchini (about 8 ounces), shredded

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

Kosher salt

Crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups 1/2-inch cubes eggplant

For assembly:

All-purpose flour or rice flour, for the peel

Extra-virgin olive oil

12 kalamata olives, pitted and halved

4 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella cheese, pulled into 1/2 inch pieces or grated (about 1 cup)

Flaky sea salt

Prepare the dough: Transfer the dough from its storage container to a roomier, lightly floured, covered container, and allow to proof at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Prepare the toppings: In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the zucchini and garlic, reduce the heat to low, season with a pinch of salt and some pepper flakes, and saute until the zucchini is very soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and mash with the back of a fork to create a paste. Taste and adjust with salt as needed.

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the eggplant and let it cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it begins browning. Season with a pinch of salt, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but caramelized at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate to cool.

Prepare the grill and pizza peel: Turn all the grill burners to high until it reaches 500°F. This may take 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your grill. (For making pizza on a charcoal grill, see Note at the bottom of this recipe.)

Roll the dough: Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 14-by-9-inch oval, using flour as needed to prevent sticking. Place the dough on the peel and give it a shimmy to ensure it isn’t sticking. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil.

Grill the pizzas: Shimmy the dough, oiled-side up, onto the grates. Cover the grill and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and use tongs to flip the dough so that the grilled side is facing up, then immediately transfer to the pizza peel. Turn off the middle burner and turn the remaining two burners to medium. (If your grill only has two burners, turn one off and the other to medium.) You need the grill to be around 400°F.

Assemble the pizzas: Brush the top surface of the dough with olive oil. Spread the zucchini mixture over the dough all the way to the edges. Scatter the eggplant and olives evenly over the top. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with flaky salt.

Shimmy the pizza back onto the grill grates over the turned-off burner and cover the grill. Grill until the cheese is melted and the underside is evenly golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

Use tongs to transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Cut and serve.

Note: For making pizza on a charcoal grill, prepare coals for a direct and indirect zone. Prepare the dough and peel as directed in the recipe. Grill the dough in the indirect zone, oiled-side up, covered, for 2 minutes. Uncover and use tongs to rotate the dough 180 degrees. Recover the grill and cook for 2 minutes more. Use tongs to flip the dough, then immediately transfer it to the peel. Re-cover the grill.

Brush the top surface of the dough with olive oil. Top as directed, then return the dough to the indirect zone. Grill covered until the underside is evenly golden and the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes more. Use tongs to transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Cut and serve.

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

(Makes four 245-gram balls)

385 grams (about 3 cups) tipo “00” flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

165 grams (about 1 cup) semola rimacinata or all-purpose flour

15 grams Diamond Crystal kosher salt salt (5 teaspoons by volume)

2 grams (about 1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast

385 grams (about 1 2/3 cups) cold (about 60°F) water

28 grams (about 2 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk the “00” flour, semola or all-purpose flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water followed by the olive oil and use a spatula to mix until the dough comes together, forming a sticky ball. If the dough is dry, use your hands to gently knead it in the bowl until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water, Dip one hand into the bowl of water, then use the dry hand to stabilize the bowl while you grab an edge of the dough with your wet hand, pull up, and fold the dough toward the center. Repeat this stretching and folding motion 8 to 10 times, turning the bowl 90 degrees after each set. By the end, the dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive.

Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the dough and use your hands to rub it all over. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in volume, 6 to 10 hours. The time will vary depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen.

Portion the dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 4 equal portions, roughly 245 grams (or slightly less) each. Using flour as needed, form each portion into a ball by grabbing the edges of the dough and pulling them toward the center to create a round ball. Then flip the ball over, cup your hands around the dough, and drag it toward you, creating tension as you pull. Repeat this cupping and dragging until you have a tight ball.

Store the dough: Place the dough balls in individual airtight containers (clean quart-size takeout containers with lids work well for this) and transfer to the fridge for 1 to 3 days.

Adapted from “Pizza Night” by Alexandra Stafford

Pizza Night, Part II on Wednesday: Summer Wedge Salad with Charred Corn, Tomatoes, and Herby Ranch Dressing

Print This Post



2 comments

  • Carolyn, oh my goodness, thank you! One of your fans, Deborah Wong, sent me your newsletter, which I now subscribe to, and which I am so excited about. Thank you for taking the time to make two of the recipes from Pizza Night and for sharing with your readers. Both look fantastic!! I love that you picked those two… so summery. Grateful for your support 🙂

  • Hi Alexandra: You’re very welcome! It’s such a fun book. I love how you pair each pizza with a specific salad. They were both delicious. Congrats again on the cookbook.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *