Baked Eggplant Chip Pesto Pizza

Cheesy, crunchy, breaded eggplant slices on a pesto pizza crust spread with extra pesto and topped with shredded Italian and crumbled feta cheeses.

If you've been or known a picky eater, could you ever imagine that picky eater to say "this spaghetti sauce needs more cowbell some eggplant"?  

My kids were picky, or at least not game for any vegetable, when we first started getting a CSA farm share.  Ever since I figured out that I could take the farm share eggplant and puree it with other vegetables to make spaghetti sauce (my first ever posted-on-the-internet recipe, at Tasty Kitchen, is here) I haven't had eggplant the way I love to eat it--breaded and covered with cheese.  Since the kids will eat eggplant in spaghetti sauce, that's what we do with our farm share eggplant.  Period.

Until this blog happened along, which probably coincided with me thinking that, just this once, I'd like to eat eggplant as the star of its own show, not as a bit player in an ensemble.  I've been all about treating myself this summer, making foods that I want to eat, and this is another one of those.  It's my hope that you'll also benefit from my self-pampering.

This is the third time recently that I've posted a recipe-within-a-recipe, and I hope I'm not violating some sort of blogger laws or setting up some unrealistic expectations.  Just like you don't need to make pizza with your Sun Dried Tomato Pesto, nor do you need to use Kale Hummus in your Fattoush Dip, you don't need to make Baked Eggplant Chips the way I describe below in order to make Baked Eggplant Chip Pizza.  You can make them another way.  The first eggplant chip recipe I ever had was from my CSA in Virginia, Blenheim Organic Gardens, and you can find Becky's tasty eggplant chip recipe here at the Washington Post.

I wanted a breaded cheesy crunchy sort of eggplant chip, and I had a hunch, when I got a great coupon for Kraft Fresh Takes (not sponsored, I bought this because it was a good deal and I wanted to play), that instead of coating chicken or fish I could coat slices of summer vegetables.  I tried it with zucchini,  patty pan squash, and eggplant.

I got a little carried away.

With the leftover eggplant (because it's frequently about the leftovers around here) I decided to toss it onto a pizza.  This was a good call--the breaded eggplant slices retained their crunchy cheesy eggplant goodness.

NOTE: This recipe is not gluten free as written, because the bread crumbs and pizza dough are not gluten free. To adapt this recipe for a gluten free diet please substitute the gluten free bread crumbs and pizza dough of your choice, or make your own--here are some options:
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free-flour-mix-white/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free-flour-mix-whole-grain/
Check labels to confirm that your other ingredients are also gluten free. Good sources for determining gluten free products can be found here:
http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Baked Summer Vegetable Chips (a loose recipe)

olive oil

summer vegetables, thickly sliced--1/4 to 1/2 inch thick (I used the veggies shown)

pesto--I used about a cup (here's how I put up mine)

Fresh Takes or your own seasoned bread crumb and shredded cheese mixture

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Brush a thin layer of olive oil onto a rimmed baking sheet, and set aside.  Toss sliced vegetables with pesto, then dip them in seasoned cheesy bread crumbs.  Lay on prepared sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, then flip over and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until crumbs are browned and cheese is melted.  Arrange on a pretty platter and enjoy.  Save the leftovers for pizza!

Baked Eggplant Chip Pesto Pizza

1 pound pesto pizza dough (here's how I make a buttermilk pesto dough)

1/2 cup prepared pesto (here's how I make mine)

leftover baked eggplant chips (recipe above, use a few, don't crowd them)

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Please refer to my Pizza Primer post for multiple photo collages, hints, tricks, and tips for making pizza at home.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you have a pizza stone, preheat it as well.  If you've got a cookie sheet, no need to preheat it.  On an oiled sheet of parchment paper stretch out the dough in the shape that pleases you.  Spread pesto across near the edges.  Top with eggplant slices and cheeses.  Bake for 5-8 minutes, then shimmy the crust off of the parchment paper and continue to bake another 3-5 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly.  Cool on a rack a few minutes, then slice and serve.


This post is shared with the From the Farm Blog Hop, the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, What's In The Box, Food on Friday