Extra Veggies This Summer? Grill Them & Make a Delicious Pizza!

Every summer, I purchase a "Community Supported Agriculture" (CSA) share. Local farmers sell their "shares" (similar to a membership or subscription) to people like me who live in the city but want produce directly from the farm. My share arrives in a box, full of seasonal produce, each week throughout the farming season. The boxes are delivered (from the farmer) every Thursday, onto my neighbor’s porch. I walk over, sign my name on the checklist (so the farmer knows I picked up my share) and bring home my vegetables.

I love all the fresh vegetables (and sometimes fruit), the biggest challenge is using everything before it spoils (or the next week’s box arrives). I try to make meals that incorporate several different vegetables, but many times I am fresh out of ideas.

As I was looking for summer vegetable recipes, I found Grilled Vegetable Pizza- a simple grilling recipe for vegetable pizza. The recipe calls for a prepared pizza crust, which is great since I don’t always have time in the summer to make one. The recipe also calls for 4 Cheese Italian Blend Cheese is tasty and convenient.

To begin this recipe, preheat the outdoor grill to medium-high. Gather together the oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.

Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem and chop the rosemary into small pieces.

Remove the garlic clove from the head, peel it and remove the outer layer. Chop the garlic into small pieces.

Add rosemary, garlic, oil, salt and pepper to a small bowl. This is the marinade for the vegetables. Reserve 3 Tablespoons of the herb mixture in another small bowl to use later in the recipe.

Wash (and scrub, if necessary) the vegetables and chop or slice them. I didn’t peel any of the vegetables. You don’t need to peel them, just make sure you have scrubbed off the dirt.

Cut the zucchini into small slices. I cut mine even smaller because I wanted everything to be "bite-sized."

Cut the mushrooms into quarters.

Cut open the bell pepper and remove all of the seeds. Then cut out the white membrane on the inside of the pepper.

Chop the tomato into small pieces.

Place all the vegetables into a large bowl and pour the oil mixture over them (not the reserved mix). Stir thoroughly.

Pour the veggies into a grill basket and place onto the grill. I didn’t have a grill basket before making this recipe and was always frustrated with my veggies dropping between the grates and into the grill. I bought one at my local hardware store and am glad I did, it makes grilling vegetables much easier.

Grill the veggies for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. I watched them closely so they didn’t get charred. Remove them from the grill and set them aside.

Turn your grill temperature to Low (or move the coals to one side, if you are using charcoal). Brush one side of the crust with the remaining oil mix. Place the crust on the grill (freshly oiled-side up) for 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn the crust over and place the cheese slices on top of the crust. Close the grill lid and then the cheese will begin to melt.

Spread grilled vegetables over the crust, remove from the grill and serve right away.

Feel free to be creative and use other vegetables on this pizza. There are many vegetables that would work well for this recipe: any type eggplant, yellow summer squash, garlic, onions, and asparagus. You can also add vegetables or herbs (basil, oregano, arugula, or other greens) to the pizza once it’s finished.

As for me, I can’t wait to see what’s in my next CSA share. It has been a warm spring and hopefully a great vegetable crop for us. This means grilled vegetable pizza every week at our house!

If you find yourself with a surplus of veggies, or just love using them in cooking, give this Grilled Vegetable Pizza a try, and rate and review the recipe online.

Come back in a few days when Amanda will share a tasty slider recipe.

Bridget is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.