Grilled Pizza With Grilled Broccolini, Chiles, and Garlic Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated August 30, 2018
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J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Broccolini or broccoli rabe with garlic and chiles is a classic flavor combination. In this recipe, I toss the broccolini in garlic oil before grilling it over hot coals, then apply it in whole pieces to the pie which also gets slices of fresh mozzarella and a scattering of fresh hot chiles.

Recipe Details

Grilled Pizza With Grilled Broccolini, Chiles, and Garlic Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 2 hrs
Makes 4 pizzas
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds homemade or store-bought pizza dough
  • 4 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds broccolini
  • 4 tablespoons finely sliced hot red chiles such as fresno or Thai Bird
  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced, drained between paper towels

Directions

  1. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide dough into four even pieces. With lightly floured hands, form into tight balls. Lightly oil 4 medium containers (large soup bowls work great) and place 1 dough ball in each one. Lightly grease the tops of the dough balls then cover each bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

  2. Meanwhile, toss broccolini, garlic, and 1/4 cup olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

  3. On a heavily floured surface, roll a dough ball into a disk about 13-inches by 9-inches and 1/4-inch thick using rolling pin. Shake off excess flour and place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough balls, placing a sheet of parchment between each one.

  4. Light a large chimney starter full with charcoal and wait until fully ignited and coals are mostly covered in gray ash (about 20 minutes). Arrange coals under half of grill grate and place grate on top. Cover and allow to preheat for 10 minutes.

  5. Place broccolini over hot side of grill and cook, turning frequently with tongs, until charred and tender, about 3 minutes. Return to bowl.

  6. Brush top of 1 dough round with a thin even layer of oil and season with kosher salt. Place gently on hot side of grill, oiled side down. Immediately brush top side with thin layer of oil and season with salt. Cook, checking frequently and moving to encourage even browning until bottom is dark brown and charred in spots and top is bubbly, 45 to 90 seconds. Flip using tongs or large spatula and cook until second side is charred. Flip again and transfer to cooler side of grill.

  7. Apply 1/4 of cheese in a thin even layer across surface of pizza. Add 1/4 of broccolini and 1/4 of red chiles. Sprinkle with a little salt. Cover and cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Transfer pizza to cutting board with large spatula or metal pizza peel. Drizzle with more oil and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

Special equipment

grill

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