Grilling Pizza! BBQ, Garbanzo, Caramelized Onion and Gouda Pizza

A tragic oven problem turned into a very happy and delicious dinner last night.  I originally told Andrew I’d make a homemade pizza for dinner, but after I had prepared all the ingredients, rolled out the dough, and preheated the oven something bad happened.  Smoke started pouring out of the oven, filling the kitchen with smoke.  I had no idea what was wrong with my oven (still don’t actually), but obviously I had to do be creative.  I had already rolled out the dough, so we had to use it.  My mind immediately went to the grill at my apartment complexes pool. I had always wanted to try grilling pizza, but was a little intimidated by it (I know absolutely nothing about grilling, and I have an irrational fear of fire), but I had no other option this time.

i am so scared of fire, i've never even lit a match (seriously)

Thankfully Andrew was around to man the grill. I kind of let him take over, but grilling the pizza was surprisingly easy as far as I could tell and the flavor was AMAZING.  There was a moment of panic when we thought the dough was slipping through the cracks and sticking to the grate, but as soon as the pizza crisped up it was easy to remove from the grill.  The trick here is to grill BOTH sides of the pizza, not just one.

grill master

I definitely plan on trying to (make Andrew) grill pizza again.

posing with the pizza (and my mojito)

On to the flavor of this pizza.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  The combination of ingredients sounds pretty weird but ummmm it was the best thing ever.  I usually like some kind of meat on my pizza, but I did not miss it at all this time.  The gouda (goat gouda, actually) went perfectly with the tangy BBQ sauce, and the garbanzo beans were a great stand in for chicken.  Don’t even get me started on the caramelized onions – a little labor intensive, but so worth the flavor punch.

Grilled BBQ, Garbanzo, Caramelized Onion, and Gouda Pizza

Recipe adapted almost exactly from here

Serves 2, generously

• pizza dough – either homemade, or store bought.  I used TJ’s pizza dough, but halved it because there would only be two of us
• flour, for dusting
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• a few pinches of sugar
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• BBQ sauce of your choice
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup goat gouda cheese, grated

Start with the onions.  Cut an onion in half and then into slices,  and throw in a large pan of the heated olive oil and butter.

i will tell you a secret - i used two small onions and these cooked down A LOT

Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 45 minutes.  About 10 minutes into the cooking time, add in the sugar and stir to coat the onions.  The onions will reduce significantly, so use more than you think you will need.  Cook until the onions are nice and brown and caramely, and then set aside. This was my first time making caramelized onions, so they were slightly burnt, but still amazing.

onions!

While your onions caramelize, roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface, keeping it somewhat thick (it will be easier to transfer to the grill this way).  We put the pizza on a cookie sheet to transport it to the grill.  Assemble your other ingredients as well, putting them in bowls that will make it easy to access them when you are at the grill.  Carry them to the grill and set up camp.

the goods

You’ll notice the pizza has bbq sauce on it already.  Don’t do that.  Leave your pizza naked, save for a brush of olive oil, when you put it on the grill.  Heat up your grill, and when it is ready, transfer the pizza to the grill.  This is probably the hardest part about the whole process, especially if you are a poor college student without a pizza stone.  AKA me.  Grill the first side until it is nice and crispy underneath, then flip it, add the toppings to the grilled side.

YUMMMMMM

Grill the pizza until the the second side is nice and crisp, and the topping is nice and bubbly.  Remove from the grill, and enjoy.  Sure, this pizza is a little bit of indulgence, but it is so, so good.

not the prettiest pizza, but certainly the tastiest