For tonight's dinner I decided to put something new together and ended up with some eggplant and veggie bbq pizzas on whole wheat pita. I've made pita pizzas before, but never this kind. I enjoy taking culinary risks and i'm glad I went through with this slightly crazy, non-traditional pizza because it was delicious! :)
I'm not really one for measurements...I like to eye things up and this is an easy to eye up meal.
Here's a list of the ingredients I used, and I'll walk you through the process later. Feel free to swap anything out! :)
- One medium eggplant
- Panko Breading
- Flour
- 3 Eggs
- Various seasonings - Adobo, garlic powder, ground cracked pepper, blackened redfish seasoning
- Tofuyan brand Pita Bread
- 2% milk shredded mozzarella and 2% shredded mexican blend
- Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce
- Broccoli florets
- 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Olive oil
- Peanut (or other oil of your choice) for frying
- Baby spinach
- Sliced portabella mushrooms
- Cilantro
- Avocado
The most time consuming part of this whole operation was definitely the eggplant. I peeled and thinly sliced that bad boy and sent it to the assembly line to be breaded. You can choose whatever thickness you'd like, but I recommend keeping it under 1/2 inch...most of mine were thinner so they would fry faster.
I had four dishes lined up across the counter. The first one was for the eggplant, the next was a bowl with 3 beaten egg yolks, the third was for the flour and last was the panko breading.
Pretty easy, just cover each piece in flour on both sides then dip them into the eggs, covering thoroughly and then finishing off with enough panko to cover up the egg.
I had plain panko breading in the house so I added a few seasonings to kick it up a bit.
I went with Adobo, ground cracked pepper, garlic powder, and just a touch of blackened seasoning.
I didn't put crazy amounts in there, but there was enough to give it some great flavor.
You can or course use whatever seasonings you'd like or even go with pre-seasoned panko or breadcrumbs. I personally like the panko better because it is lighter and gets a great crisp to it.
Once prepped, the eggplant doesn't take long to fry up at all.
Take the oil of your choice (although I would stay away from olive oil as it doesn't work well for frying foods) and put enough in the skillet to fry a few pieces at a time. Make sure not to crowd the pan.
I like to put the setting on a little higher than medium and see how they fry from there. If you're not sure if your oil is hot enough just stick your finger in th pan...I mean, drop a crumb in and if it sizzles with some enthusiasm, the oil should be hot enough to start putting in some slices of eggplant.You don't want things to get too hot but make sure that they're hot enough.
The edges should start to brown up a bit when it's about time to flip and the eggplant itself should be transparent looking and soft when finished.
I set up another plate with folded paper towels on it to catch some of the excess oil after they were out of the pan. Sprinkling on a little salt on em after they're out of the pan is a great finishing touch.
Doesn't quite do them justice, but here's a pic of some of the finished eggplant...
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| First batch...so what if it looks like a sunflower?! |
Everyone in the house ended up having a few pieces as I was cooking it, but you get a lot of slices from one eggplant, so I was left with more than enough to slice up and put on our pizzas!
Towards the end of the eggplant project, I preheated my oven to 400 to get ready for the pitas.
The first time I made these pizzas I didn't toast the pita's before adding the sauce, cheese, and toppings, so they weren't quite crispy enough for my liking. If you'd like a crispy pizza, just put them on some foil, top side down and brush some olive oil on them. Let them hang out in the oven until they start to get a little bit brown. I don't cut them in half, I use the entire pita. It makes for a thicker, sturdier crust to hold all those awesome toppings.
Once the pitas were crispy enough, I took them out of the oven and smoothed on some Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce. I love this stuff! Just enough kick mixed with a little sweetness. Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce.
I sprinkled the 2% Mozzarella on first, then added a mixture of sautéed garlic, onions, and portabella mushrooms. Next was the sliced panko eggplant, broccoli florets, shredded spinach, raw onion and another layer of cheese, the 2% mexican blend for a little more flavor.
I made 6 pizzas total, so I tried a few variations, all of which were super tasty. Adding cilantro, sliced avocado, and Cholula hot sauce was my personal favorite!
Here's the pre-oven picture of the first pizza
Post-oven Pizzas...
We all had 2 and they were pretty filling, but it all depends on how hungry you are.
The best thing about pita pizzas is that the possibilities are pretty much endless. There are many varieties of pita out there, along with a boat load of cheese and topping options so if you're not an eggplant fan, make one with your favorite stuff!
In the past i've used grilled chicken, chicken parm, pepperoni, shrimp, and more. It just depends on what you and your guests are in the mood for!
Pita Pizzas are a pretty quick and crowd pleasing meal idea.
You also might want to try making them as an appetizer, just slice into fours, put out some ranch or other dipping sauce and they're ready to go!
I hope you make your version of these sometime...thanks for reading! :)
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