If you’ve been a fan of the blog here for a while, you’ll know that we love pizza in my household.  From Pizza Fridays of pandemic times to epic pizza parties at my parents’ house in the summer, pizza holds a special place in my heart and will always remain one of my favorite foods.

I happened to have a free afternoon last Friday, so we decided to bring back Pizza Friday for a special reappearance, complete with homemade dough.  We made our house special (pepperoni with hot honey) for our first pie, and this delightful veggie creation as the second.  The recipe turned out so well that I wanted to share it here on the blog, and I hope you make it!  It tastes like summer in a pizza, and it’s so delicious.

This recipe makes use of all the summer things – zucchini, fresh herbs, and red onions.  Any summer squash will work well here – I always have zucchini from the garden on hand in the summer months, but yellow summer squash will work here too!  I went with a fresh red onion, but feel free to swap for a shallot or some scallions, or a yellow or white onion will do.  My herb of choice for this pizza was parsley, but feel free to go with any tender herb that you have on hand – basil, cilantro, or dill would all be great here, and a combo thereof would also be amazing!  Finally, I used two balls of burrata cheese for my pie, mostly because I had quite a few leftover that I needed to use up.  Feel free to swap with fresh mozzarella here for a more economical option (I don’t usually use burrata for pizza, but it worked really well here and wanted to share what I made!).

This is a tomato-free pizza, which I really like.  Most of the flavor comes from the herb sauce, so definitely don’t skimp on that!  The herb sauce goes on after cooking the rest of the pizza, giving the pie a nice, herbal freshness that is delightful to eat.  This sauce is honestly amazing on anything, but it really lifts this pizza up to a special place!

Recipe down below, photo up top!  This was enough to make one 12-inch pie, so adjustments in quantities may be needed if you are working with more or less dough.

Zucchini Burrata Pizza with Onion Herb Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pizza dough
• 2 balls of burrata cheese
• 2 (small to medium) zucchinis, diced
• ½ cup parsley, roughly chopped
• ½ red onion, diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp salt

Method:

1. Prepare the zucchini by washing and drying, and remove the stem and the bottom ends of the zucchini with a sharp knife.  Cut the zucchini into quarters by slicing the zucchini in half (lengthwise), and each half in half again (also lengthwise).  Cut the quarters (cross-wise) into 1 inch pieces.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat until warm, about 30-60 seconds.  Add the diced zucchini and cook until tender, stirring occasionally (this should take about 10-15 minutes).  Once the zucchini is tender, remove the pan from the heat and allow the zucchini to cool while preparing the rest of your pizza.
3. Prep the herb sauce by roughly chopping the parsley and dicing the red onion.  Add them both to a bowl and add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and salt.  Stir until fully combined, and set aside until ready to use.
4. Prepare to cook your oven by pre-heating to 450F.  If you have a pizza stone, insert this into the oven before pre-heating to begin warming it up with your pizza.  While your oven is pre-heating, move on to assemble the pizza.
5. Prepare the dough by stretching it into a thin, round shape using your hands and gently pulling from the center.  Depending on your set up, you can either place the dough on a baking sheet (lined with parchment or a Silpat to prevent sticking) or prep the dough on a pizza peel before adding the toppings.
6. Slice the burrata into ½ thick slices, and roughly tear and scatter the slices all around the prepared pizza crust.  Top the burrata with your sauteed zucchini all around the pizza crust as well.
7. Bake the pizza at 475 for 15-20 minutes.  I would keep an eye on it during the baking process to make sure it’s cooking evenly and not overcooking or burning in the oven.
8. Once the pizza is cooked, remove it from the oven.  Allow to cool very briefly (about 30-60 seconds) before drizzling the herb sauce all over the top of the pizza.  Remove your pizza (carefully) from your baking dish to a cutting board.  Slice and eat!
9. Enjoy!

Want some more pizza inspiration?  Check out these posts:

• Summer Pizza Ideas
• How to Set Up a Wood Fired Pizza Oven
• You Really Should Be Putting Honey on your Pepperoni Pizza
• Recipe: Sourdough Levain Flatbread Pizza!
• Par-Baked and Frozen Sourdough Pizza Crusts
• Recipe: Squash Blossom Flatbread
• Recipe: Sweet Italian Seasoning
• Recipe: Potato Tomato Pizza with Caramelized Onions