I saw a recipe last weekend for grilled pizza and I felt inspired to try something similar. We had some salami left from last weekend so I knew what the meat topping would be and went from there.
I wanted a nice rich base and what better way to start than with a really nice wine? The Boordy Vineyards South Mountain Red has definitely become a favorite, especially with their Merlot not available right now.
Pizza sauce: small can of low-salt tomato sauce, @ 1/2c South Mountain Red, @ 2 Tbsp dry Italian Seasoning, @ 1 Tbsp sugar, freshly ground black pepper. The measurements are really approximate because it is totally based on taste. Simmered and reduced to moderate thick consistency
In a stove-top grill pan, grilled one side of each pita to crisp and prep for the toppings, over medium high heat, then set aside.
With the grilled side Up, topped with the pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, very thin slices of red bell pepper and Vidalia onion…
…and slices of genoa salami and a sprinkling of mozzarella. In most recipes for Grilled Pizza, the pizza is placed on the side without flame and the lid of the BBQ Grill is closed to cook the top. I covered the grill pan with a large skillet lid to “hold in the heat” to melt the cheese, etc. It worked just right. That was another reason the vegetables were very thinly sliced, so that they would not have to cook very much.
Turned out just about as I pictured – the first pizza was a little crispy (read burned) on the bottom but reducing the temperature under the grill pan took care of this. The fine line is having the pan hot enough to crisp the bottom but also allowing for enough time to melt the cheese and cook the ingredients on top without actually burning the base. I think this has potential for all sorts of toppings.