Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Goat’s Cheese

Who doesn’t love pizza? But sometimes you need a break from the heavy, doughy, pizza loaded with cheese and meat. This pizza is a step away from the norm, a wonderful pizza that is comprised of sweet, caramel-y onions, lemony thyme and smooth goat cheese.

I acknowledge that making pizza dough is a lot of work, but there are a few options out there. If you are like my sister (whom this recipe is for) you have a Kitchenaid mixer, and then all you need to do is throw all the ingredients in the mixer and let it do the work for you. The beauty with this homemade dough and you use half now and then freeze the other half for next time. If you are making this recipe for a family I would advise to make the whole batch and double the onions and the goat’s cheese.

There are other options, you can stop by a pizza place on your way home from work and buy some ready-made dough. Also, most grocery stores sell pizza dough these days. If you find this recipe too much work still for a Tuesday night please remember to keep it on hand and try it some other night, it is delicious.

I usually serve this with a tossed green salad.

Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Goat’s Cheese

Serves 2 as a meal

For the Dough:
1 tsp active dry yeast
½ tsp sugar
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Herb de Provance

1 Tbsp olive oil

In the bowl of your mixer pour the water. Mix in the sugar and the yeast and set aside for 7 minutes. It should be foamy.
Add the flour, salt, herb mixture and olive oil and with the dough hook set it at the lowest speed. Mix it for a minute, then increase the speed to the next lowest level and let it knead for about 7 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the mixer and place half of the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and top with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until risen a bit, about 45 minutes. Take the other half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then put in a freezer safe bag and freeze it to use next time.

For the topping:
2 yellow onions sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme

About 4 oz of goat’s cheese or as much as you like.

To prepare the onions melt in a large saucepan the butter with the olive oil. Add the onions and sprinkle with the sugar. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are a nice golden color (the sugar will help with this process). Near the end sprinkle over the thyme.

To prepare the pizza:
Preheat the oven to 425° degrees.
Roll out the dough to the width and length of your cookie sheet. Sprinkle the dough with olive oil and then top with the onions. Break up your goat’s cheese into chunks and sprinkle liberally all over the pizza.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the pizza is golden and the goat’s cheese is starting to turn brown on top. Enjoy!