Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Recipe: Gyro Pizza

So, just in case I forgot to mention it, pizza is basically my favorite food.  Pasta would be 2.  Pizza is definitely number 1.  Pizza is a food of infinite possibilities.  Take a crust, then go crazy!  Sauce is usually good, but not always necessary.  Add some cheese.  Or don't.  Throw on some meat.  Or veggies.  Or fruit even!  There are so many interesting ways to make pizza.  Tomato sauce and cheese is great if you want traditional, but I like to throw out all the rules and come up with some crazy combinations. 

My husband Scott loves to smoke things on his Big Green Egg.  He decided to smoke some gyro meat, but you could easily pick some up at a take out place, or even just use sauteed ground lamb.  Or sub out chicken even.  But the lamb adds such a great flavor that is hard to get in other kinds of meat.

This recipe is not particularly weight watchers friendly, and I did not calculate the points.  This is one of those splurge and enjoy meals. 

Here is the recipe:


Scott's smoked gyro meat
and sauteed shallot
Gyro Pizza
Servings depend on how you cut your pizza and how hungry you are.

Pizza dough (you can use store bought, but my favorite homemade pizza dough recipe is the cornmeal pizza crust from Martha Stewart)

For the toppings:
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup gyro meat, diced or ground lamb, sauteed
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled or diced

For the sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
Small eggplant, peeled and diced
Red pepper flakes

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. While you are rolling out the pizza, roast the eggplant in the pre-heated oven until cooked through and very soft.  Remove and let cool.

Roll out the pizza dough so that it fits on your pizza pan (I use a Lodge cast iron pizza pan that I LOVE).  Par-bake for 10 minutes, or until your dough is about half way to done.


The sauce isn't much to look at, but
tastes amazing.  It would even make a
good dip!


In the meantime, saute the slice shallot in a drizzle of olive oil, then toss with the gyro meat.

For the sauce, use either a food processor, regular blender or immersion blender to puree the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and roasted eggplant until smooth.  Seasone with salt and red pepper flakes and puree for a few more seconds.

Ready to go in the oven






Once the pizza dough is half-cooked, pull it out of the oven and spread the sauce, then top with the crumbled feta and gyro meat/shallot mixture. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the dough is completely cooked through.








Hot out of the oven!

I served this with some tzatziki sauce to dip the crust into, and it was divine!