Fourth of July Grilled Pizza

Happy Fourth of July!

Most of you are probably making burgers, hot dogs, and corn on the cob today. Drew has to work, so we decided to celebrate a little early and made this on July 3rd: Grilled Pizza!

Grilled Swiss Chard Pizza w/garlic, red peppers, & feta

A friend of mine said she made grilled pizza the other night since it's sweltering hot on the east coast. Who wants to turn on an oven and make pizza when it's 100 degrees outside? While it's cool and comfortable here, her rave reviews convinced me I had to try it.

I used this dough recipe, and substituted half of the flour for whole wheat. I made two smaller pizzas so it would be easier to handle and flip on the grill. They were about 10 inches.

Swiss Chard, Garlic, & Red Pepper Grilled Pizza

makes 2 small pizzas

-8-10 medium to large stems of swiss chard

-4 cloves of garlic

-1 sweet bell pepper

-Sauce and cheese as you like

-Olive oil for coating the dough and grill

-Chopped fresh basil

Oregano & Cumin Salad Dressing

-1 tbsp fresh oregano

-1 tsp ground cumin

-1 clove chopped garlic

-3 tbsp olive oil

-1/4 c rice vinegar

-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

(Keeps for a few days in the 'fridge.)

When the dough is almost done rising, start prepping. It's important to have everything ready as this pizza cooks fast. No time for multi-tasking. I went ahead and made this salad: baby swiss chard, green onions, radishes, yellow carrots, and the dressing above. Making things exclusively with veggies I've grown never gets old!

Rough chop and lightly sauté the full sized swiss with the sweet bell pepper and two large cloves of garlic. We love garlic! Especially the Spanish Roja variety we grew this year. But feel free to use any toppings you have at home. The swiss chard plants are going crazy right now and will probably go to seed soon, so we're eating lots of chard these days. Set your toppings aside and let cool. Be careful not to overcook the greens since they will cook some more once they're on the grill. 

pretty rainbow swiss chard

When the grill is warm, but not too hot, brush olive oil on the grates. You can use a paper towel or brush. 

Sully wants some pizza...

Set up the toppings, sauce, and cheese on a table near the grill. Put the dough on a cookie sheet and brush one side with olive oil. Quickly flip the pizza dough onto the grill. Time will vary depending on the temperature of your grill. Ours took about a minute! Flip the dough and then add the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Cover the grill, and let cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat, cut, and serve with fresh chopped basil. 

YUM! This was a beautiful summer dinner. While a little time consuming to prep, it was really fun to make together, and certainly cooked a lot faster than oven pizza.