Roasted Eggplant, Sausage & Taleggio Pizza
Roasted peeled eggplant has an almost creamy texture and works really well with red onions, sausage, and creamy taleggio cheese in this pizza recipe. Taleggio is a washed rind Italian cheese that is named after Val Taleggio. The cheese has a strong aroma, but its flavour is comparatively mild with an unusual fruity tang. It is certainly one of my favorite Italian cheeses, but is pretty rich so I have used half mozzarella and half taleggio on these pizzas. Our pizzas were baked in our pizza oven but I am giving directions to cook the pizzas in a regular oven.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2011
Roasted Eggplant, Sausage And Taleggio Pizza
Yield:
Serves 4
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Roasted eggplant pairs really well with sausage and Taleggio cheese in this hearty pizza.
Ingredients
- 4 Balls Pizza Dough For Individual Sized Pizzas
- 2 Medium Sized Eggplants
- 1 Medium Red Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 Large Sausage Links
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3 to 4 Cups Prepared Tomato Sauce
- 1 (4 Ounce) Block Mozzarella Cheese, Thinly Sliced
- 4 Ounces Taleggio Cheese, Sliced
- 4 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel the eggplant and then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, then peel the onion and chop it into pieces the same size as the eggplant.
- Place the eggplant and onions on a baking sheet and drizzle with the two tablespoons olive oil.
- Toss to coat the vegetables evenly, and roast the eggplant and onions until tender, about 20 minutes.
- In a skillet, heat the oil.
- Remove the sausage meat from the casings and cook until lightly browned, breaking the meat up with a fork as it cooks, about 10 minutes.
- Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Roll out one ball of dough into a 12 to 14 inch circle and place on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel.
- Spoon some of the tomato sauce onto the pizza spreading it to within 1 inch of the edge.
- Place some of both of the cheese slices over the sauce, then top with some of the eggplant and onions and finally the sausages.
- Sprinkle with the fresh basil.
- Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly.
- Serve immediately and continue to prepare and cook the rest of the pizzas.
I made this for my dad who LOVES eggplant. While I’m not the biggest fan, I gave it a try and we both absolutely loved it. The combination of all the flavours really gives it a nice balance. Props for a great pizza.
Okay…this is what my boyfriend wanted to his birthday dinner last night. I made it with fontina cheese instead of taleggio (couldn’t find it). Besides the cheese and sausage, all of the ingredients were from my parents’ garden and my homemade gravy & dough. We are “fat kids” and decided to also stuff the crust with fontina/mozz and also sprinkled fresh garlic and parmesan around the crust. We grilled it on my new pizza stone. This was the best pizza we ever had, I think. My daughter ate the whole slice (she is 2 1/2 and never has that kind of appetite). It was too amazing for words really. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!