Grilled Pizza with Spinach, Portobellos, and Sausage

I first heard about grilling pizza a few years ago, and couldn't understand how the dough wouldn't fall through the cracks on the grill.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around it!  But I finally decided to give grilled pizza a shot during one of the recent 90F+ days, and it worked super well and was delicious.  A special thanks to Mark, the resident grill expert, for implementing my plan for this meal. :)

You can definitely top with your favorite pizza toppings.  I went with sliced portobellos and sausage that Mark pre-grilled, as well as some spinach, onions, garlic, and cheese.  It's important to not over-do it with the toppings on grilled pizza.  I was able to get the cheese melted and the spinach slightly wilted, but nothing else really cooked once it was on the pizza.

We loved the grill marks on the crust and the fact that this cooks fast!  Get your grill ready and start grilling any toppings you want to grill while you prep everything else.  You'll be in pizza heaven before you know it.  We are excited to experiment with other toppings throughout the summer (pesto anyone?).

I also think that this will be a great method for making flatbread for sandwiches or to have alongside salads during the hot summer months when you don't want to turn on the oven.  Instead of topping with lots of pizza toppings, just sprinkle the cooked pizza crust with some spices and eat however you want!

If you would appreciate more pictures of the process, King Arthur Flour did a blog post on grilled pizza a few years ago that might be helpful.  

Grilled Pizza with Spinach, Portobellos, and Sausage

serves: 2-4 (depends on what you serve along with it-- salad is great!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ball of pizza dough  (mine was about a pound of dough)
• olive oil
• 3 portobello mushrooms
• 2 links chicken sausage
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 10 cloves garlic, sliced
• handful fresh baby spinach
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
• salt + pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1) Heat up your grill to a medium heat.  On a piece of parchment paper or a silcone baking mat, roll the pizza dough into a rough rectangle (consider the size of your grill....) and brush with olive oil.  Set aside.

2)  Grill the mushrooms, sausage, and onion until they are cooked to your liking.  Slice the mushrooms and sausage and set aside.

3)  Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat.  Cook garlic until golden.

4)  Once all toppings are prepped, turn the heat on your grill to medium-low and start to grill the pizza.  Flip the pizza dough rectangle onto the hot grill so that the oiled side is touching the grill.  Close the top of the grill and let cook for 1-4 minutes until browned on the bottom.  Carefully flip the crust over and top with toppings.  Start with the garlic, then the cheese, then the spinach, and finally the mushrooms, sausage, and onions.  Close the grill and cook for a few more minutes until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the pizza is brown.

5)  Carefully remove the pizza from the grill.  Sprinkle with salt and/or pepper if desired.  Slice and enjoy!