Lunch: Middle Eastern Pizza

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 pound pizza dough, rested at room temperature for 1 hour
1 medium eggplant, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red onion, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tablespoon sumac
1 (32-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, diced
1 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups French feta cheese, crumbled
1 medium bunch fresh mint, chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil onto a half sheet pan and stretch the dough into the pan. It does not have to be perfect since this is a rustic pizza. Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons olive oil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saute pan. Add the eggplant and season with salt, pepper and ground cumin. Saute for 7 to 10 minutes, add the garlic and saute 5 minutes more.
While the eggplant is cooking, heat another saute pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the red onions until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
For the tomato sauce, heat a medium pot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and saute the yellow onions until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic powder, sumac and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Pull the par-baked pizza crust from the oven and decrease the temperature to 450 degrees F. Top the crust with the tomato sauce, then the mozzarella, eggplant, red onions, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. Return the pizza to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Pull out occasionally
and brush the crust's edges with olive oil. Once the pizza is done, pull out, brush again with olive oil and top with mint. Cut and serve.
NotesThis recipe was created by a contestant during a cooking competition. The Food Network Kitchens have not tested it for home use, therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

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