Caramelized Onion, Pear and Goat Cheese Pizza
I wouldn’t ask this question except to a group of foodies, but have you ever developed a strange fixation with a specific food?
My strange food fetish is onion jam. I started buying it years ago, thinking I would make roasted vegetables in a sweet-savory glaze–doesn’t that sound good? Well, in the end, the sugar caused the vegetables to over-caramelize (burn), and the idea got scrapped. But I kept buying the jam. Yup.
With one spoiled jar in the fridge and two unopened in the cupboard, onion jam was a perfect candidate for my Kitchen Cupboard Spring Cleaning Challenge. I did an internet search to get ideas on what to do with onion jam and that is how today’s Caramelized Onion, Pear and Goat Cheese Pizza was born. I even had the pears!
The pizza was a great success in our household–except for my youngest who took just one piece, then ate it entirely with a wrinkled up nose. Daughter #2 actually asked if I could make a second pizza, and declared that if I kept cooking foods like this, it would be hard for her to go away for college. I told her that I’d be sure to make some bad things too.
If you don’t have onion jam in your pantry (doesn’t everyone impulsively stock onion jam?), you can sauté a couple of sliced onions in butter with a little balsamic vinegar until golden, and season with salt & pepper for a simple home version. Of course, if you should happen to have onion jam in your pantry or a sudden desire to start acquiring it, it makes the recipe super easy.
Caramelized Onion, Pear and Goat Cheese Pizza
Makes 2 thin crust pizzas that will fit on cookie sheets
Ingredients
- 1 lb pizza dough (prepared or make your own), divided in two
- 1/2 c onion jam or 2/3 c homemade caramelized onions (1/4 – 1/3 c per pizza)
- 2 pears (1 per pizza)
- 7-8 oz goat cheese (I used a 3.5 oz crotin on each pizza)
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
Directions
1. Roll out dough thinly into two pizzas, pricking each crust with fork (to prevent bubbles from forming). Place crusts on parchment for easy transfer to oven.
2. Top each pizza with about 1/4 – 1/3 c of onion jam or caramelized onions. Slice pears thinly and spread evenly over pizzas.
3. Top with pinches of goat cheese, then sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
4. Bake in preheated 425 oven for about 10-12 minutes or until pear edges are starting to bubble and crust is golden.
Tip: Don’t have a pizza paddle to transfer a homemade pizza to the oven? If you make your pizza on parchment, you can use a cookie sheet to slide it on to a preheated stone (or preheated cookie sheet).
For More Pizza Fun
- Give Homemade Bread a Second Chance–Easy Rustic Rye
- Violet Jelly to Celebrate Spring
now this is one surefire way to get me to willingly consume goat cheese! 🙂
Thanks Grace. You know I hadn’t thought of it before, but I don’t really eat goat cheese by itself either. But I do enjoy adding it to a variety of dishes!
Your onion jam fetish made me laugh!
I think it’s getting worse though. Now that I have found a couple recipes, I actually want to make it myself 😉
Your pizza looks wonderful – and now I’m dying to try onion jam!
I don’t think that doing this helped cure my fetish 😉 Especially since I have an arugula salad that uses it to that I’ll be following up with!
Looks great! The only thing I’d add are a few toasted walnuts. One of my favorite pizzas is onion confit, chevre and walnuts, which I saw made at a Public Market cooking class.
I probably could have added walnuts given the fact the my youngest rejected it after a single piece!
Well, this certainly sounds inviting. I’ve never heard of onion jam! I’ve never eaten goat cheese that I know of. I used the words – goat cheese – in a poem that’s going on my post Wednesday. You are a clever cook!
A poem that mentions goat cheese! That will be one not to miss!
I love the unique flavor combination of this Caramelized Onion, Pear and Goat Cheese Pizza! I love sweet and savory together to I can imagine how good it is. 🙂 The flavor preference is quite different in my family too. Oh well, I’ll just made a side salad when I try this recipe. For sure there’s something for everyone….and I need to go hunt down a jar of onion jam. 🙂
I will be posting a salad that uses onion jam within a week or so, so if you buy it, be sure to check back!