Mini Pizza Trio

Mini pizzas! Who doesn't love them? I remember as a child eating mini pizzas on English muffins and while that satisfied my 7 year old appetite, these days I prefer fresh dough. Prepare it yourself or pick some up from your local pizzeria for an even easier and still fresh finished product.
Each of these pizzas can easily be made as whole, sharing pies. Just up the amount of vegetables to your liking. These would also be great to grill on a barbecue outside!

Three different types of mini pizzas made from one ball of dough: Eggplant & Broccolini, Potato, Garlic, Rosemary and Olive oil and Roasted Mushroom with Spring Onions and Kale.

Mini Pizza Trio
makes 6 mini pizzas, 2 of each flavor

dough and sauce
1 ball fresh pizza dough
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbl dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1-15oz crushed tomatoes
1 ball fresh pizza dough

Saute the onion in olive oil for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften. Add the garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook 3 minutes more until the garlic has toasted. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Set aside 1/3 of the  chunky sauce for the Eggplant & Broccolini Pizza.
Transfer the remaining sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 450.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature under a cloth for 15 minutes. Divide into 6 small balls and press out into circles on a floured surface. Let sit for 10 minutes. Prepare two greased baking sheets. Press each circle out again to desired size and place on the baking sheet.
Drizzle 2 pizzas with olive oil for the Potato Bianco. Sauce 2 pizzas with the reserved chunky sauce and the remaining two with the smooth sauce.
Top 2 pizzas with each of the three toppings. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the dough has cooked through.

Eggplant & Broccolini
1/4 cup small diced japanese eggplant
1/4 cup small diced zucchini
2 sprigs broccolini
2 tbl chili oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all of the ingredients and marinate for 30 minutes. Layer over chunky pizza sauce and bake.

Roasted Mushroom & Spring Onion with Kale
4 shiitake mushrooms, halved
2 spring onions or scallions
1 tbl plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
1 cup raw kale leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup baby arugula leaves

Preheat the oven to 425.
Toss the mushrooms and spring onion tips with 1 tbl oil and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the kale leaves for 3 minutes then shock in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and toss with 1 tsp of olive oil.
Layer the kale on top of the smooth sauce, top with mushrooms and spring onions. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Top with arugula after the pizza has cooked.

Potato Bianco
1 medium sized yukon
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves. minced
1 tbl dried rosemary, crumbled
coarse sea salt

Par boil the potato in salted water for 5 minutes. Once cool enough to touch, slice thinly.
Brush 2 pizzas with 1 tbl olive oil and top with potato slices, garlic and rosemary. Drizzle the top with the remaining oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Thin Crust Pizza with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Artichokes

I love artichokes on pizza, especially when marinated in lemon juice and herbs. They suck up so much flavor, so along with the addition of sweet cherry tomatoes, they make up a really flavorful pizza without all the weight and heaviness a cheese filled pizza has. Slightly roasting the tomatoes before baking them on the pizza allows them to get a head start on popping and releasing all the marinated flavor onto the pizza once done.

Lemon-herb marinated artichokes and cherry tomatoes, roasted until they pop with garlic and fresh basil with a quick homemade tomato sauce on fresh pizza dough.

Roasted Tomato Artichoke Pizza
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the dough
juice from one lemon & 1 tbl of zest
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 basil leaves, chiffonade, plus more for the pizza
2 tbl fresh chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
pinch of red pepper flakes
10 oz cherry tomatoes
1-15oz can artichoke quarters, drained and rinsed
1 head of garlic
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
fresh pizza dough
Traditional Pizza Sauce-recipe below

Combine 1/4 cup oil, lemon juice, zest, salt, pepper, basil leaves, parsley and red pepper flakes with the tomatoes and artichokes. Cover, chill and marinate for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 450.
Cut a thin layer off the bottom of the garlic bulb, keeping the core in tact and drizzle with 1 tbl olive oil. Wrap up in a foil pouch and roast for 45 minutes until soft and sweet. When 10 minutes remain on the garlic, separate the tomatoes from the artichokes, spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast in the oven with the garlic.
If your pizza dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and package and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Roll out into a thin circle or square and let rest 10 minutes more. Place on a pizza stone or baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 425.
If the dough shrinks up a little, roll it gently out again to desired size and top with pizza sauce, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top with marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes and whole roasted garlic cloves.
Drizzle the crust with a little bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and cooked through. Garnish with freshly torn basil and parsley.

Traditional Pizza Sauce
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, small dice
salt and pepper
1 tsp organic sugar
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 fresh basil leaves, whole
1-15oz can tomato sauce

Saute the onions in a small sauce pot with oil and 1/2 tsp salt until soft and fragrant, 5 minutes. Add the pepper, sugar, red pepper flakes and garlic and toast 2 minutes more. Add the basil and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the basil leaves. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.