Cheese & Onion Pizza

Cheese & Onion Pizza

Cheese and onion is a classic flavour combo for a good reason – it’s delicious! Feel free to play around with different types of cheese here.

enough for 2 medium pizzas:
takes:2 hours
1/2 quantity of pizza dough
2 red onions, peeled, halved and finely sliced
4 sprigs thyme
2 small handfuls bocconcini or fresh mozzarella
parmesan for grating

1. Preheat oven with your pizza stone on the very bottom on the highest setting.

2. Cook onion in a little oil until soft but not browned. About 8 minutes. Set to one side.

3. Roll out or use your hands to form half the dough into a circle about 25cm (9in) across.

4. Sprinkle semolina or flour onto a pizza peel and transfer the dough. Shake to make sure the dough isn’t sticking. If it is add more semolina or flour.

5. Top pizza with the half the onion, thyme and bocconcini. Grate over half the parmesan until you’re happy it’s well covered.

6. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden. Serve hot then repeat with remaining ingredients.

Leftover Potential

OK. I know some people love cold pizza but I’m not so convinced.

Variations for Serving Sizes

I often make a mini pizza about half the size of this if there are just 2 of us. If you need to serve more, I’d make 2 separate pizzas rather than trying to make on big one because a larger pizza will be difficult to cook in your home oven. Although if you happen to own a proper wood fired pizza oven, ignore this comment (and I’m very jealous)!

Variations

meat lovers – pork sausage goes really well with the onion or add prosciutto, bacon or salami.

vegan / dairy-free – skip the cheese and serve drizzled with a good quality extra virgin olive oil to make up for any dryness. Grate over brazil nuts using a mircoplane.

different herbs – I love thyme with the onion but you could use a little rosemary or oregano instead.

irish pizza – cover the onion with a layer of super finely sliced potatoes before topping with the cheese – this may take a little longer to cook to make sure your potato is cooked through.

short on time – use a commercial pizza base or pita bread rounds instead of making your own dough.

gluten-free / paleo – use GF pizza bases or grill a steak instead.

carb lovers / more substantial – serve more pizza!

low carb/paleo – use cauliflower pizza base.

Problem Solving Guide

oven smoking – it’s important to remove any leftover semolina or flour from the pizza stone after you bake each pizza. I find the best way to do this is to just scrape it to the back with my pizza peel. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use your hand inside a thick oven mitt to wipe the pizza stone down or even a very large wad of scrunched up news paper. Best to have some windows open while you’re cooking the pizza to make sure you get fresh air in.

pizza soggy on the bottom – this means your heat from the bottom wasn’t high enough. Next time preheat your oven for longer and keep cooking until you’re happy with the underside of the dough. Excess or watery toppings can have an impact here too.

too charred – next time get your pizza out earlier.

pizza crust too crunchy – sounds like you’ve over baked your pizza. Next time get it out a little earlier.

don’t have a pizza stone? – bake on a preheated baking tray in the middle of your oven on it’s highest setting. It may take a little longer to cook and won’t have as lovely a texture. If you like pizza it’s worthwhile investing in a pizza stone – I picked up mine for about $15 and it’s paid for itself many times over.

don’t have a pizza peel? – either use an upside down baking tray or roll your dough out onto al foil and bake the pizza on the foil base.

pizza sticking to the pizza peel – next time use more semolina or flour. For now, use your hands to lift up small bits of pizza and push some flour under. Work your way around until the pizza wobbles when you shake. If you’re worried about his step you can roll your dough out onto al foil and use the foil to transfer to the oven but the texture won’t be as good.

I have an element at the bottom of my oven – if you can’t put the pizza stone directly on the floor of the oven, just put it on the lowest shelf so it is close as possible to the element so it gets super hot.

can’t find semolina? – fine polenta will work or just use flour instead.

Serving Suggestions

Hot from the oven!

Waste Avoidance Strategy

pizza dough – divide into 2 balls and freeze in ziplock bags.

red onion – will keep in the pantry for months. Best if in a dark corner in a brown paper bag.

thyme – keeps for ages in a plastic bag in the fridge or even longer in the freezer.

bocconcini or fresh mozzarella – freeze them.

parmesan cheese – keeps for months in a plastic bag in the fridge. Can be frozen.

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