recipe: balsamic roasted red pepper & chicken pizza

after a night of grazing pizza pics on foodgawker.com i wanted to make a pizza sooo bad. we had a red pepper that needed to be used, so roasted red pepper-based pizza it was. one of the best pizza's we ever made used balsamic as the sauce base with grilled veggies, so we went down that path again. pizza is so much better on the grill if it's in season... mmmmm.

 

ingredients list:
- 2 boneless chicken thighs (1 large chicken breast would also work)
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 2 & 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar, divided
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1-1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups mozz cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil

to make:  marinate chicken thighs in 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar for at least 15 minutes. mix 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat outdoor grill to medium heat. heat a large skillet on medium heat, and preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees. heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown, adding mushrooms and pepper for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking and the garlic for the last minute.


in a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups balsamic vinegar to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat, cooking for about 5 minutes until the balsamic reduces by half and just starts to take on a syroupy texture. remove from heat and set aside.


cook the marinated chicken thighs on the grill until cooked through, about 8 minutes total, turning once (it's OK if they are not completely cooked through, they will cook a little longer when the pizza is in the oven). when the chicken is done cooking, dice up and set aside.


roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread the reduced balsamic onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese, the chicken & veggies, and a lil more cheese. bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.


you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking. allow to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.
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smokey. vegetably. balsamicy. YUMMY.