Grilled Pizza with Maple Onion Jam and Shaved Brussels Sprouts
Lacey Baier
This delicious and easy grilled pizza is on whole wheat pizza crust, topped with winter flavors, like a homemade maple onion jam, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, shaved Brussel sprouts and mushrooms.
In a deep skillet or stock pot, combine olive oil, thinly sliced yellow onions, coconut sugar, minced garlic, sea salt, ground nutmeg, and black pepper, and toss everything together to combine.
Cook this over medium heat for about 20 minutes, during which time the onions will start to caramelize and turn golden brown. If you find the onions start to burn, you can reduce the heat a little and add in a little water to help it out.
Once the onions are tender and caramelized, add in the apple cider vinegar, and pure maple syrup, and toss to incorporate.
Pulse until the mixture is chunky, but spreadable, about 6-8 times. Then, set this aside.
For the Whole Wheat Pizza Crust:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, and sea salt, and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
In a separate bowl, combine water and olive oil in and stir to combine.
Slowly add water mixture to the flour mixture, stirring to incorporate. Mix together until a dough forms. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. You can add a little more water if it's too dry, a tablespoon at a time. If it's too sticky, just add a little more flour.
Once the dough has formed into a ball, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Then, roll the dough out into a large circle using a rolling pin or by stretching it with your hands. Do not make a raised rim for the crust since that will make it tricky to grill - keep the edges flat.
For the Grilled Pizza:
Heat the Weber Spirit II Grill to about 350 degrees F. You’ll know the grill is ready when you can’t hold your hand over the heat for more than 2 seconds before it gets too hot. Make sure to rub the grates with some olive oil before we get started, too, so the pizza doesn’t stick. I use a clean rag and then dab it with a good amount of olive oil.
Transfer the crust to the grill and carefully spread it out using your fingers if necessary. Grill one side of the pizza crust for about 2-4 minutes with the lid closed. You’ll know the crust is ready to move once grill lines appear on the bottom and it moves easily on the grates. Plus, you’ll probably see bubbles start to appear in the crust.
Then using a cookie sheet or a pizza peel, carefully remove the pizza crust from the grill in order to add our toppings.
Keep the grill covered so it retains its heat for the next step, but turn it down a little as well.
Flip over the crust and add our toppings to the grilled size of the pizza crust.
Carefully brush the outer edge of the crust with some olive oil, and then add your toppings.
Add a layer of the maple onion jam, followed by thinly sliced cremini mushrooms, shaved brussels sprouts, very thinly sliced garlic cloves, a few dollops of ricotta cheese, and a light sprinkling of mozzarella cheese to finish it off. Be careful not to pile on the sauce and toppings to avoid making a soggy pizza. The more toppings on the pizza that cook and release juices, the more juices on the pizza.
Now, slide the prepped pizza back onto the grill.
Close the lid and cook for 4-5 more minutes, or until the bottom begins to char and the cheese is bubbly.
Remove from the grate with a spatula or peel and then transfer onto a cutting board or other flat surface and let rest for a couple minutes before cutting into slices.
You can slice it using a large knife or a handy pizza cutter. Then, I like to garnish it with some chopped walnuts for a little texture.