Grilled Pizza with Roasted Summer Veggies and Chimichurri

Yesterday has been a whirlwind of events!

Packing, moving, unpacking, and doing it again, and it's not done yet. This was the first thing I did yesterday morning (after breakfast with blog stalking, of course) and the last thing I did right before going to bed at 2 AM.

After some packing, I went to a very challenging yoga class that I enjoyed every minute of. Today was arm balance day and since the only arm balance I can manage to do as of present is the crow pose, a not so great one at that, it was hard to get into the side crow and one-legged crow poses. Gotta give myself a pat on the back for trying and for not getting mad because I can’t do it, just yet. I will keep working on it and will get there someday.

We went to my friend, Tuck's, very nice and well-attended memorial service. He was an amazing person and I feel privileged to have gotten the chance to know him. Thank you Tuck for always helping me out and for showing me what good work, family values, friendship, and being a good Samaritan means. You will live on in our hearts!

This pizza was what we had for dinner and it is the bomb!

Thank you Lexi for choosing, Mixed Grill with Chimichurri, for The Food Matter’s Project this week. At first, I wasn’t too thrilled when I first read through the recipe… it seemed like a lot of preparation and because of not thinking in advance, I had already gone to the farmer’s market and grocery store last Friday to buy the weekly supplies. The original recipe, which you can find at Lexi’s beautiful blog, called for eggplant, parsley, tomatoes, and chicken, all of which I did not have.

Because we spent so much money at the market, I thought it would be best to stick with what was already in the refrigerator and make it work. Then I read Jenna Weber’s post on Grilled Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza and that was it. Sold!

Because I like making things from scratch and was determined to make grilled pizza, I had to make DFJ’s and my current favorite pizza dough, the Basic Pizza Dough recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Despite all the packing fiasco and the limited time we have, I made another grocery store stop for yeast (I thought we were out but it magically reappeared when I didn’t need it anymore), tomatoes, and parsley.   

While DFJ packed and packed (he had a late start) I happily kneaded the dough, made the chimichurri, and chopped the vegetables. When it was time to grill the pizza, I called for help and we both headed out to the apartment complex’s community grill. The pizza grilling process took longer than we expected because we were not patient and didn’t wait for the grill to heat up.

This dinner took a lot of time, but it was worth every second! Grilled pizza is so good that I am toying with the idea of purchasing our own grill, which is totally unreasonable right now. The other delicious factors about this pizza are: the chimichurri (an Argentine herb sauce), the roasted vegetable toppings, and the cheeses.

Basic Pizza Dough recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Chimichurri was used as pizza sauce. I followed Mark Bittman’s recipe closely, which you can find here. The recipe recommends parsley but also said it is fine to use cilantro or basil or a combination of all three. I used parsley and about 1/3 cup of olive oil instead of 1/2 and loved it! This is what I’m going to do now every time I have leftover parsley. One of the best pesto sauces ever!  

Roasted vegetables comprised of the following: Walla-Walla sweet onion, portabella mushroom, red bell pepper, asparagus, zucchini, a zucchini-like summer squash, and tomatoes. Chop everything, place in a roasting pan, generously coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast everything but the tomatoes in the oven for 18 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. After 18 minutes, add the tomatoes and grill for 2 two more minutes.         

Cheeses: Panela Cheese and Gorgonzola.

Fresh basil placed on the pizza after it came out of the grill. Perfect finishing touch!

For pizza grilling instructions, check out Jenna Weber’s recipe.

Look at that perfectly cooked crust... I am dreaming about this pizza as I am writing this blog post. The combination of everything is just too wonderful for words. You gotta try this one guys!

Have a great week everyone and wish me luck… more packing and apartment cleaning awaits!