Eggplant, Sausage, & Goat Cheese Pizza

A couple weeks ago, my Mom went to a restaurant and had a delicious eggplant pizza.  She told me all about it, and I was inspired to make my own eggplant pizza!  Mine is a little different than what the restaurant served her, but she thinks is was at least as good as the one she had.

1 eggplant
1 jar pizza sauce from Trader Joe's
2 TBSP olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP oregano
1 can sliced olives from Trader Joe's
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
2 cups sliced mini bell peppers
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 onion, halved then thinly sliced
3 raw Sweet Italian Chicken Sausages from Trader Joe's
1 log Fresh & Creamy Goat Cheese from Trader Joe's, frozen and crumbled
1 ½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
Balsamic Glaze from Trader Joe's
1 batch pizza dough, try my favorite Pizza Dough! (If you're in a hurry, try making this pizza on Trader Joe's Handmade tortillas or Flatbread)

What some people don't know is that if you don't press eggplant before you cook it, the juices will come out while it's cooking and it will wind up boiling instead of browning.  But if you salt and press it before you cook it, it gets a wonderful meaty texture.

Slice the eggplant into 1 inch slices.

Arrange on a cooling rack and lightly sprinkle with salt on both sides.

Put an upside down cooling rack on top, then top with a tray and several heavy books.  Press for 4 hours or more.

Heavily brush the pressed eggplant slices with olive on both sides, then grill on a preheated BBQ.  When the eggplant slices have turned a light golden brown and have defined grill marks, remove them from the BBQ and let them cool.

Slice the eggplant into small pieces, I sliced mine into eighths like a pizza!

Cover the eggplant and put it in the fridge, it will be a little while before we get to using it.

Remove the casings of the sausages, then put them in a large preheated pan and use a wooden spoon to crumble them into small pieces as they cook.  Once the sausage pieces are brown all over and cooked through, transfer them to another container and cool.

In the sausage pan, sauté the olive oil and garlic until the garlic begins to bubble.

Turn off the heat, then add the pizza sauce and oregano and mix thoroughly.  Congratulations, you just made an authentic Italian pizza sauce!

Arrange all of your ingredients for easy access when topping your pizza.

Roll out you dough, then fold over the edge and brush with olive oil.

Use a ladle to swirl a thin layer of pizza sauce over the crust, making sure to go all the way to the edges.

Top with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, eggplant, and sausage, then sprinkle with Goat cheese and top with a light layer of Mozzarella cheese.

Cook on in a preheated oven or BBQ until the crust is just turning a light golden brown.  Remove from the heat and immediately drizzle with the Balsamic Glaze.

Slice into eighths and serve alongside a salad.  Try this decedent pizza with my Garden Salad & Dressing!

To see more of my pictures you can find me on Instagram at @audreygracephotography.