Middle Eastern Pizza

Ingredients

• 35 ounce canned tomatoes diced whole canned
• 1 medium eggplant cubed
• 0.8 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 0.5 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 0.3 cup kalamata olives pitted roughly chopped
• 8 servings kosher salt and pepper freshly ground
• 8 servings torn mint fresh for topping
• 8 ounces buffalo mozzarella cheese fresh diced
• 0.5 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil extra-virgin
• 5 tablespoons olive oil extra-virgin plus more for brushing
• 1 pound pizza dough prepared at room temperature
• 1 large onion red thinly sliced
• 0.3 tablespoon sumac powder (available at Middle Eastern and gourmet stores)
• 1  onion yellow chopped

Equipment

• frying pan
• baking sheet
• sauce pan
• oven

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic powder, sumac and tomatoes and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
5. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil and stretch the pizza dough to fill the pan (it doesn't have to be perfect since this is a rustic pizza).
6. Brush the dough with olive oil and bake until just golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
8. Add the eggplant and cumin, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the eggplant is tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
9. Add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat.
10. Add the red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
11. Reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Top the crust with 1 cup sauce, the mozzarella, eggplant mixture, caramelized onion, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. Return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts and the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes, brushing the crust with olive oil halfway through.
12. Remove the pizza from the oven and brush the crust with olive oil again. Top the pizza with the mint.
13. Photograph by Kang Kim