Pizza Salad-What's that?

I've been going to Everybody's Pizza in Atlanta (both locations) for 17 years. It's my favorite pizza joint and I crave the "Greek Pizza Sandwich" from time to time. Everybody's Pizza invented the "pizza salad" which is also delicious. I decided to create my own version of the pizza salad.

Since I am not a pork/beef eater, I always stick to an all veggie pizza. Usually what I do is buy the fresh pizza dough from Publix or Trader Joe's, make homemade pizza sauce, which is super easy and tastes better than store bought pizza sauce, and saute a bunch of veggies as toppings such as green and red pepper, portabella mushrooms, and onions. Sometimes I will add black olives, minced garlic, and sliced fresh tomatoes. The cheese will be mozzarella and the pizza won't be complete without some fresh basil. This is fairly standard and even though it's incredibly delicious, I was getting a little tired of it.

So, this is what I decided to do:

6 medium sized Vidalia onions, sliced

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs red wine vinegar

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 bags of pizza dough (sells at Publix and Trader Joe's)

1 cup of basil leaves

1 bunch of green onions

1 bag of romaine lettuce

Olive Oil Spray

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

1 bag of mozzarella cheese

1 cup of goat cheese

2 small tomatoes or one large tomato

3 tbs of fresh rosemary

Begin by sauteing Vidalia onions with a little extra virgin olive oil in a large pan on medium to high heat. Add the sugar, vinegar, half of the rosemary, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir onions regularly and allow them to cook for at least 20 minutes. They will be appear a caramel color (caramelized onions) and be extremely soft. Take them out of the pan and set them aside.

Take out the pizza dough and let sit out for 20-30 minutes. Follow instructions on the bag regarding temperature of the oven. Usually 350 is standard for pizza dough.

In the same pan that the caramelized onions were cooked in, add some more extra virgin olive oil on medium to high heat and saute red and yellow peppers, minced garlic from about 3 garlic cloves and salt and pepper to taste. Brown the peppers but be careful not to burn the garlic. They should still have a little bit of crunch to them.

Roll out pizza dough into two pizzas and place on the pizza pans. Spray the dough with olive oil spray. Spread the caramelized onions on each pizza, then the peppers, a few cloves of minced garlic and the remainder of the rosemary, then the goat cheese and mozzarella cheese. Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and pepper to taste. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Ovens and pizza dough instructions vary so watch pizzas carefully to make sure the cheese is melted and the edges are a light brown.

While pizzas are baking, toss romaine lettuce, basil leaves, green onions with 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. The salad will be topped on the pizza once the pizza is finished baking.

What did I think?

I liked the pizza salad a lot. But I think I would have been happier with just sprinkling some fresh basil on top of the pizza. All of the salad on top hid the pretty pizza. But, it was fun to try something new. Let me know what you think!