Eggplant Pizza

Fry the eggplant

1. Connoisseurs insist that eggplants for pizza should be grilled, as for melitzano. There are plenty of arguments over whether to fry eggplant in oil or grill it. So eggplant pizza is made in many ways, and all of them are “classic”.

   The eggplant should be firm-ripe, dark purple, without noticeable seeds. My impression is that in Italy eggplants are thin and long, like purple zucchini. Ours are round like pears, though there is always a choice.

2. Slice the eggplant into rounds no thicker than 5 mm. There is no need to peel off the purple skin.

   Although many pizza masters score the eggplant lengthwise and remove the skin in strips, or cut it on the diagonal.

   

3. If you are not sure the eggplant won’t be bitter, play it safe: sprinkle the rounds generously with coarse salt and press them under a weight for 30 mins. This draws the bitterness out.

4. Then rinse off all the salt thoroughly in cold water and blot dry with a paper towel.

5. Fry the eggplant in olive oil over medium heat until lightly golden, 2-3 mins per side.

6. Transfer the fried eggplant slices to a plate and let them cool.

   

Make the sauce and topping

1. Scald one tomato with boiling water, peel it, remove the seeds and chop finely.

2. Peel the garlic and chop it finely.

3. Fry the chopped garlic and tomato flesh in olive oil for 2-3 mins and add salt.

4. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the vegetables over low heat for 6-7 mins. You should get a thick tomato sauce. Take it off the heat and let it cool.

   

5. Cut the pitted black olives in half or leave them whole.

6. Chop the parsley and basil finely with a knife.

   By the way, Italians say you shouldn’t cut the herbs with a knife but tear them by hand, so the juice doesn’t run out of the damaged leaves.

7. Remove the seeds and white membranes from the hot pepper and cut it into thin strips.

8. Fry the hot pepper strips in olive oil for 2-3 mins.

   

9. Slice the mozzarella thinly and grate the hard cheese on a fine grater. For the cheese, Emmental or Radamer, though Parmesan will work too.

Assemble the pizza

1. It’s worth turning the oven on ahead of time so it heats up to 180-190°C.

2. Make a yeast pizza dough following the simple recipe.

3. Lightly grease the pan with olive oil and spread the dough over it.

   

4. Spread the cooled tomato sauce over the dough. Cover the whole pizza carefully, leaving no gaps, evenly and uniformly.

   As usual, there is confusion over the order of the toppings and no agreed view.

   

5. Sprinkle the pizza with half of the chopped parsley and basil and the dried oregano, literally 1-2 pinches.

   

6. Next, lay the mozzarella slices over the whole area of the dough. It will melt and spread as it bakes.

   

7. Slice the second tomato into rounds. On top, lay the fried eggplant and tomato rounds tightly, one against the next. Ideally the whole pizza should be covered with eggplant and tomato.

   

8. Sprinkle the eggplant with the remaining herbs and top with the olives and lightly fried hot pepper strips.

   

9. Sprinkle the hard cheese on top of the pizza.

Bake and serve

1. Put the pizza into an oven heated to 180-190°C. Eggplant pizza bakes in up to 20 mins.

   

2. After 15 mins, check the dough by lifting the edge. If the bottom of the pizza is starting to turn golden, it’s done.

3. In Italy, the finished pizza is sprinkled with a handful of grated Parmesan before serving. This is optional, but it makes eggplant pizza especially tasty and gives it an unusual look. It’s also worth scattering a few fresh basil leaves over the top.

4. Cut the pizza into 6-8 pieces with a pizza wheel.

   

5. Serve immediately. The most important thing is to eat the pizza hot. I never understood why anyone would leave pizza to be reheated.

   Eggplant pizza is very filling and delicately flavored. If you like, garnish the finished pizza with sprigs of herbs.