What a beautiful day! Sunny and warm, it is a perfect time to barbecue! What better way to get into the spirit, than with an extravagant pizza of epic length. With home made sauce and crust, how can you possibly resist!?

METHOD
Spicy Tomato Sauce

1. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add diced onion, garlic and chili to pan and sauté until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add plum tomatoes and oregano and bring mixture to a low boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When spicy tomato sauce has cooled, add chopped fresh basil.

The Crust

1. Meanwhile, prepare the pizza dough. In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, Parmesan cheese, Bone Dust BBQ Seasoning and baking powder. Add cold butter to flour mixture. Using your fingertips, rub butter and flour together until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in enough milk to form a ball of dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, preheat grill to medium heat. Toss red onions with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Place onions onto grill and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from grill and slice into ¼-inch thick slices.
3. Place dough ball onto a floured surface, and flatten slightly. Roll into a long tube, about 12 inches long. Using rolling pin, flatten out dough into a crust just 2 inches shorter than the length of the board, and about ¼ inch thick.
4. Sprinkle plank with cornmeal. Lay pizza dough onto plank and brush lightly with olive oil. Place plank on grill and close lid. Plank bake crust for about 8 to 10 minutes, until top is light golden brown and the dough is just starting to get a little crisp. Open lid of grill and carefully flip pizza dough over directly on the plank.

Toppings

1. Top pizza with about ¾ cup of tomato sauce, sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, grilled onions, sliced soprasetta, and grape tomatoes. Place plank back into grill and plank bake pizza for 6 to 8 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden, crust is golden brown, and toppings are hot.
2. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and remove plank from grill and allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Slice pizza into wedges and serve immediately.

There you have it. A fresh and homemade, delicious meal that even the kids will love. Don’t forget that you can always substitute ingredients to make this vegetarian and vegan, although I cannot vouch for the quality of the crust if using vegan and/or gluten free flours. I am looking forward to supper tonight. How about you? What’s going on your pizza?

Happy Grilling!