Cheap Eats!

Double-Roasted Veggie Pizza
(a recipe I created tonight)

I love this time of year, because at last locally-grown red peppers, onions and squash are as cheap as they get.

I baked my first roasted-veggie pizza out of a box from a high-toned market, and as soon as I really thought about it, I knew I could make one better.

As with many things, the secret's in the sauce. The roasted eggplant spread becomes a lovely pizza/spaghetti sauce, should you add a few canned tomatoes instead of tomato paste, or thin out the paste with a bit of water or wine.

That's the double-roasting for you -- concentrated harvest goodness, so full of umami that meat's not necessary. That means if you can deal with non-milk cheese, this recipe can go full-veggie. Of course, you can make both the sauce and the roasted veggies ahead of time; and everything, including the dough, can be frozen in portions, to plan ahead.

Double-Roasted Veggie Pizza

4 T olive oil
1 red pepper, roughly diced
1 banana pepper, roughly diced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

8-10 oz. shredded mozzerella/pizza blend cheese
Enough pizza dough for a large pizza
2 T. flour

1.5 c. eggplant/pepper sauce, pureed
(recipe here)

Use 2 T. of the olive oil for coating the bowl where the pizza dough needs to rise. Let the dough sit on top of the stove while the veggies roast.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Take 2 T. of the olive oil and brush the surface of a pizza pan or large skillet. Add the peppers, onion and zucchini; roast for 45-55 minutes, or until the onion has a few crispy bits.

Take the veggies out of the pan, setting it aside for the dough. In the bowl, punch the risen dough down; use a board and the remaining flour to knead and stretch it out. Transfer the dough to the pan; spread on the eggplant/pepper sauce. Distribute the roasted veggies over the sauce, then the cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30-45 minutes, until the cheese and top crust are golden brown. If possible, cool on a rack before slicing.