Pizza with Escarole, Roasted Peppers, and Olives

If the toppings of my Mexican Pizza recipe didn't appeal to you, here's another option for topping off the Pizza Dough recipe from 2/1/09. It has a bitter/salty combination that is scrumptious.

Take one prepared Pizza Dough and roll into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. Place on a 12-inch pizza pan or a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Crimp the edges up to form a crust, then set aside.

Cut one yellow bell pepper in half, and discard the seeds and membranes. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, flattening each half with your palm. Broil for 15 minutes until blackened, then place in a zip-top bag and let stand for 15 minutes. Peel away the skin, and slice into strips. Set aside.

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add one cup vertically sliced red onion, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper; saute 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves) and saute another minute. Add 4 cups chopped escarole and cook 2 minutes until the escarole wilts. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar.

Spread the escarole mixture evenly over your pizza crust. Top with 1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese (the original recipe used fontina but try the vegan mozzarella block from Galaxy Foods), the yellow pepper strips, and 6 chopped and pitted kalamata olives. Bake at 500 degrees for 14 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with an additional 3 tablespoons 'cheese' (in place of Parmesan) and either 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used the latter). Bake an additional 2 minutes.

One-sixth of the pie is 240 calories.

Cost:
yellow bell pepper $1.58
red onion $1.43
escarole $1.99
vegan cheese $3.39
kalamata olives $4.99