DEEP-DISH PIZZA WITH ZUCCHINI, ONION, AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Position oven rack on the 2nd-lowest level in the oven and place a baking stone on the rack; preheat oven to 500°.
• Brush a 14-inch round deep-dish pizza pan with ½ tablespoon olive oil.
• Starting in the middle and using your fingertips, press the dough evenly to cover the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of the pan.
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in the pan for 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet over med-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; swirl pan to coat.
• Add in garlic and onion; stir/saute 3 minutes, until soft but not brown.
• Add in the zucchini and eggplant; continue to saute/stir until the vegetables are crisp-tender and beginning to brown at the edges, about 8 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper; remove pan from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
• Assemble pizza: lightly press the dough up the sides of the pan if it has slid back down.
• Lay half of the mozzarella slices over the pizza dough, overlapping them to cover the dough completely.
• Scatter the cooked vegetables over the top.
• Place the rest of the mozzarella over the top.
• Ladle the tomato sauce evenly over the mozzarella; sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Place pizza in the oven on the baking stone and decrease heat to 450°.
• Bake about 30 minutes, until the crust is crisp and a deep golden brown and the cheese is golden.
• Remove pizza from oven and place on a wire rack to cool 5-7 minutes.
• Use a knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan; cut pizza into large wedges and then slide a metal spatula under the bottom of the crust to remove and lift out wedges; serve immediately.