Grilled Tomato Pesto Pizza

Take pizza night to the next level by cooking it right on your grill. Quick cooking time means a crispier crust!

To kick off #CookoutWeek (organized by The Pinterest Kitchen), I am kicking pizza night up a notch by cooking it on the grill! With temperatures skyrocketing, the prospect of turning the dial of the oven to not only 350 degrees for cookies but 450 for pizza is not enticing. So we’ve almost exclusively been relying on our grill to cook our meals lately (and I’m not gonna lie, I’m devising a plan to test out grilled cookies). But I digress, joining me in my grilling journey today was The French Farm, bearing gifts of L’Epicurien French tomato pesto and Edmond Fallout honey and balsamic dijon mustard. With delicious condiments like that, how could could you go wrong?

I started with my tried and true whole wheat thin crust pizza dough, which was rolled out and grilled for couple minutes before being flipped, quickly topped with the tomato pesto and fresh mozzarella, and closed the lid again to finish cooking. A few more minutes later I was in the presence of a gooey pizza with a crispy crust. And then I threw some arugula on top because arugula is my favorite green pizza topper. As a bonus it had been tossed in a dressing made with the mustard. Yummmy!

Once you’ve saved this recipe, make sure to click over to enter the awesome giveaway lined up for #CookoutWeek HERE. Also, don’t miss out on all the other blogger’s recipes today, listed at the end of this post!

Two years ago: Sesame Chicken & Cauliflower

Three years ago: Bobby Flay’s Crunchburger

Four years ago: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

GRILLED TOMATO PESTO PIZZA

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 recipe whole wheat thin crust pizza dough, risen

1/2 cup L’Epicurien French tomato pesto*

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced

2 handfuls of baby arugula

1 Tbsp Edmond Fallout honey and balsamic dijon mustard*

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Red chili flakes, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat grill on high heat (about 450-500 degrees F).
2. On a floured surface, roll pizza dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer dough directly to heated grill (or use a pizza grilling pan). Cook for 2 minutes until bottom is browned and crisp. Flip, quickly spread the pesto over the pizza crust, then top with slices of fresh mozzarella. Close lid and cook 2-4 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bottom is browned. Remove from grill and allow to cool a few minutes before slicing.
3. Toss arugula with honey mustard, lemon juice, zest, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve pizza sliced with arugula salad on top. Garnish with red chili flakes to serve.

*Can use any kind of pesto or honey mustard if these products cannot be found

Source: Adapted from The Lemon Bowl.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary product to be used as I saw fit for #CookoutWeek from the generous sponsors of this event.