It’s Vegan MoFo III friends, the Vegan Month of Food.

This pizza is so simple to make and it’s totally delicious. All you need is a batch of pizza dough, homemade or store-bought, an eggplant and some fresh rosemary and you’re off to the savoury races.

I kept this pizza super simple – I didn’t even use a pizza stone, gasp, which I own, man that thing is heavy.

Rosemary-Eggplant Pizza:

• Pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
• Cornmeal (or corn grits – just use less)
• Eggplant
• Fresh rosemary
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F.

Sprinkle a large rimmed pan with corn meal (I was fresh out so I used a smaller amount of corn grits – crunchy!), and stretch your pre-risen dough over top. Drizzle olive oil over dough and use the tip of a silicone spatula to gently spread it around.

Next, distribute one prepared eggplant evenly (see note below for tips on how to prepare eggplant). Then, mince up some fresh rosemary and sprinkle over the pizza.

Slide pan into preheated oven and bake for 18 – 23 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it.

Tips for Preparing Eggplant:

Slice eggplant into 1/4-inch thick slices. To make this pizza, I also removed the skin and further sliced those slices into 1/4-inch thick strips. Throw eggplant strips into a wide-bottomed bowl or dish and add up to 1/2 Tbsp salt. Stir around with your hand until all the eggplant is well coated with salt. Transfer eggplant to a colander or sieve and place over a bowl on the counter. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. When you return you will find that some liquid has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl. Discard that liquid. Rinse eggplant thoroughly under cool running water. Grab some eggplant in your hand in small batches and squeeze out as much liquid as you can over the sink (like you’re wringing out a  sponge). Repeat with the rest of the eggplant. A lot of liquid will come out.

This not only prevents the eggplant from going soggy when it bakes, but also removes the bitterness – leaving you with a sweet, succulent flavour. You can use this method to prepare eggplant for many dishes (you don’t have to always cut into strips – you can leave it in big slices). Eggplant is a super versatile, tasty, hearty, satisfying addition to any meal.

I love eggplant. I can’t get enough of the stuff. And rosemary – the fragrance wafting up from the oven is so out of this world awesome, you can’t go wrong.

This pizza is also great with mushrooms or zucchini.

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