Back in the heat of summer … August, to be exact, I decided I wanted to make a pizza with fresh dates. Knowing they weren’t yet in season at my local grocery store, I knew I’d have to put this recipe on the back burner until fall. Tonight was the night I decided to make this pizza. It was a perfect meal for a Meatless Monday.

I started with fresh pizza dough from Trader Joe’s, as I always do for my homemade pizzas. I set it out to rise for 20-30 minutes and while that was happening, I sliced my onion and garlic and placed my onions in a skillet in a tablespoon of olive oil to caramelize. I also pitted and sliced my fresh dates and set them aside.

Once the dough had risen, I formed it onto my pizza pan. I drizzled the dough with a bit of olive oil and set it in the oven to bake for about 10 minutes. This seems to work best for me in obtaining a crispy crust.

After the dough had been in the oven for 10 minutes, I pulled it out and started to assemble the pizza. I started with a 15-1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes. I decided I really didn’t want this pizza to have an actual pizza sauce as my base. I also didn’t want it to be a white pizza, so came upon the idea to use a can of diced tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes were on the dough, I added shredded gruyere cheese and a bit of shaved parmesan. I then placed the caramelized onions on top of the cheese, as well as the sautéd garlic. On top of that, I placed my dates and sprinkled dried oregano for a bit of color (and flavor, of course). I placed my pizza back in the oven and let it bake for another 13 minutes.

Once the pizza was done, I removed it from the oven and laid my sliced pears over the completed pie. I sprinkled a pinch of red pepper flakes over the pears for just a hint of heat.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pizza dough

• 1 medium onion

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup fresh dates, pits removed and sliced

• 1 15-1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes

• 1-2 cups shredded gruyere cheese, depending on how much cheese you like

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/8 cup flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Set dough out to rise on a bread board for 20-30 minutes, sprinkling the board with flour and coating all sides of the dough.

Slice onion and place in olive oil in a skillet and caramelize. Once caramelized, remove onion from pan and set aside. In same skillet, sauté garlic for under a minute, just until fragrant, set aside. Slice dates, removing and tossing pits.

Form dough onto pizza pan and drizzle with olive oil. Place in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes to pre-bake crust. Remove from oven and build pizza. Start with diced tomatoes, topping those with shredded gruyere cheese. Lay onions and garlic over cheese. Place dates on pizza. Sprinkle pizza with dried oregano and place in oven to bake for 13-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Once pizza is done, lay sliced pears on top and sprinkle with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris