Grilled Gluten-Free Pizza with Peas, Lemon + Mint {a collaboration}

Your guide to thin and crisp grilled gluten-free pizza crust (whole grain + gum-free) and a springy topping of fresh peas, meyer lemon, goat cheese and mint.

It's like I blinked and suddenly it's summer. At the co-op, I'm shocked to see buckets of peaches, nectarines, zucchini, cherries, and even corn. Corn! In May! Where did spring go? 

My niece is through with her first year of college. My sister's planning a birthday camping trip to Big Sur. And San Francisco is finally cooling down, a sure sign that summer's on its way along with Karl the Fog.

Photo by Emma K Morris

My friend and neighbor Kimberley has a long-standing summer tradition of grilling pizza on her patio, a ritual she gave up when she went gluten-free several years ago. When we met last spring, we hatched a plan to resurrect the tradition. Despite the fact that we live 5 blocks away from each other we finally made it happen a year later. I brought over some dough and toppings, Kimberley whipped up something delicious (coming soon to her blog!) and grilled some asparagus. Our friend Emma joined us from Napa with copious bottles of wine, radishes, snap peas, meyer lemons and kale from her garden, and her camera. We made a salad with Kimberley and Emma's garden offerings, cracked a bottle of wine, and had a feast.

In true SF style, there was an icy gale blowing on the patio. It kicked up the coals, blowing sparks on our toes, and we huddled around the grill trying to shield our lenses from the onslaught, snapping a few shots when we had the chance. With our SF pallors we were too afraid to sit in the sun, but wesettled into the soft carpeting and made a picnic on Kimberley's studio coffee table. It was a pretty classic San Francisco summer day.

Shooting in Kimberley's space was a dream come true for me. That gal is my food photography idol and her studio is a panoply of handmade ceramics, barnwood, and glorious light. Heaven. Emma captured tons of beautiful moments with her impeccable eye, all of which you can see on her fabulous blog.

Photo by Emma K Morris

As for the pizza, the grill does wonders for my favorite gluten-free dough. We were too chicken to throw the raw dough on there, fearing it would break apart and fall through the cracks, so we took a tip from Fine Cooking and parbaked it first. This makes the crust firm enough to slide on and off the grill as needed, and it helps the center of the dough cook through. The grill adds an addictive smokiness to the crust, and the hot coals act like a pizza oven, making it super crisp and bronzed.

Photo by Emma K Morris

As for the toppings, mozzarella and goat cheese hold the peas in place. Thinly sliced meyer lemon adds tang, and mint is a classic with peas for a reason. The mild flavors let the peas star, and the crust holds up beautifully even when laden with gooey toppings (better than most wheat-based crusts, I must say).

If you give the grilled pizza a go, let me know! Or snap a shot for instagram and tag the_bojon_gourmet – it will make my day.


Oh, and if you don't have a grill, never fear: I've given oven instructions in the recipe header. Here's a version I made at home with ricotta in place of the goat cheese – pretty tasty, too.

Wishing everyone out there a fabulous finish to spring.

More Pea Recipes:

• Chestnut Flour Ravioli with Chèvre + Artichoke in Parmesan Pea Broth {gluten-free}
• Saffron, Ricotta + Pea Pancakes {gluten-free}
• Potage St. Germain {minted pea + lettuce soup}
• Creamy Cashew-Miso Pasta with Peas and Fava Beans {gluten-free, vegan option}

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this pea, lemon and mint pizza recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

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Grilled Gluten-Free Pizza with Peas, Lemon + Mint

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Your guide to thin and crisp grilled gluten-free pizza crust (whole grain + gum-free) and a springy topping of fresh peas, meyer lemon, goat cheese and mint.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 4 to 8 servings, makes 2 (12") pizzas

Ingredients

• 1 recipe Thin + Crisp Gluten-Free Pizza Dough
• 1 1/2 cups shelled peas (from 5 pounds / 680 g shelling peas)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 12 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained well and sliced (340g)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups crumbled fresh goat cheese or whole milk ricotta (about 12 ounces / 340 g)
• half a large meyer lemon, seeded and sliced paper thin
• two handfuls of small mint leaves
• flaky salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Make the dough, let it rise, shape, and let rise again as instructed. While the dough does the first rise, prepare your ingredients and get your grill situation going; you want some steady, warm coals for this. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the peas and cook briefly, shuffling the pan a few times, until they're bright green and crisp-tender, a minute or two. Remove to a bowl and let cool.
• When the crusts are shaped and ready, slip them, parchment and all, onto baking stones or inverted baking pans and parbake for about 20 minutes; they should be firm and set, but not too golden. Slide them off the parchment and onto pizza peels (or cool inverted sheet pans or large cutting boards that are heat resistant.)
• Use a wide metal spatula to slide the first crust onto the grill and cook on the first side until deeply bronzed and crisp. This should take about a minute, but peek under the crust occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn and move it around as needed to brown it evenly. When the first side is cooked, use the spatula to guide it back onto the pizza peel. Flip the pizza over, so the grilled side is facing up, and top with half of the mozzarella, goat cheese, cooked peas, and lemon. (Press the peas into the cheese so they won't roll off in the next step!) Slip the pizza back onto the grill and cover. Cook, peeking under the crust occasionally and moving the pizza around the grill as needed so it cooks evenly, until the toppings are hot and melted, 2-3 minutes. Maneuver the pizza back onto the peel, slide it onto a cutting board, top with half the mint and some flaky salt and pepper, and cut it into wedges. Serve immediately.
• Repeat the process with the second pizza. Leftovers keep well refrigerated airtight and reheated in a skillet over a low flame.

Notes

Thanks to Kimberley for the being the grill master and teaching me the ways of grilled pizza.

Feel free to play fast and loose with the toppings here. Ricotta can stand in for the chevre, asparagus or favas for the peas, or try this method with summery toppings such as corn and cherry tomatoes.

If you're grill-less, make this pizza in a 500ºF oven on a hot baking stone, parbaking the crust for 3 minutes, adding the toppings, and baking for an additional 5-7 minutes.

Nutritional values are based on one of four servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 536kcalCarbohydrates: 70gProtein: 48gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 1971mgPotassium: 199mgFiber: 7gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 2575IUVitamin C: 22.5mgCalcium: 298mgIron: 4.7mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

Grilled Gluten-Free Pizza with Peas, Lemon + Mint

Thanks to Kimberley for the being the grill master and teaching me the ways of grilled pizza. Feel free to play fast and loose with the toppings here. Ricotta can stand in for the chevre, asparagus or favas for the peas, or try this method with summery toppings such as corn and cherry tomatoes. If you're grill-less, make this pizza in a 500ºF oven on a hot baking stone, parbaking the crust for 3 minutes, adding the toppings, and baking for an additional 5-7 minutes.

Makes 2 (12") pizzas, serving 4-8

1 recipe Thin + Crisp Gluten-Free Pizza Dough
1 1/2 cups shelled peas (from 1. 5 pounds / 680 g shelling peas)
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces (340 g) fresh mozzarella, drained well and sliced
1 1/2 - 2 cups crumbled fresh goat cheese or whole milk ricotta (about 12 ounces / 340 g)
half a large meyer lemon, seeded and sliced paper thin
two handfuls of small mint leaves
flaky salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Make the dough, let it rise, shape, and let rise again as instructed. While the dough does the first rise, prepare your ingredients and get your grill situation going; you want some steady, warm coals for this. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the peas and cook briefly, shuffling the pan a few times, until they're bright green and crisp-tender, a minute or two. Remove to a bowl and let cool.

When the crusts are shaped and ready, slip them, parchment and all, onto baking stones or inverted baking pans and parbake for about 20 minutes; they should be firm and set, but not too golden. Slide them off the parchment and onto pizza peels (or cool inverted sheet pans or large cutting boards that are heat resistant.)

Use a wide metal spatula to slide the first crust onto the grill and cook on the first side until deeply bronzed and crisp. This should take about a minute, but peek under the crust occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn and move it around as needed to brown it evenly. When the first side is cooked, use the spatula to guide it back onto the pizza peel. Flip the pizza over, so the grilled side is facing up, and top with half of the mozzarella, goat cheese, cooked peas, and lemon. (Press the peas into the cheese so they won't roll off in the next step!) Slip the pizza back onto the grill and cover. Cook, peeking under the crust occasionally and moving the pizza around the grill as needed so it cooks evenly, until the toppings are hot and melted, 2-3 minutes. Maneuver the pizza back onto the peel, slide it onto a cutting board, top with half the mint and some flaky salt and pepper, and cut it into wedges. Serve immediately.

Repeat the process with the second pizza. Leftovers keep well refrigerated airtight and reheated in a skillet over a low flame.