Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza
Fall is just around the corner which means pear season is here! Celebrate this sweet fruit by giving pizza night an elegant twist with Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza.
Pizza is an ideal canvas for seasonal ingredients, like Spicy Peaches and Brie Pizza. Using a grocery store shortcut, this sweet and savory mashup is sure to become a new fall favorite.
Ingredients
It doesn’t take many ingredients to give pizza night an autumn makeover. Just pick up your favorite bakery pizza crust and pop open a bottle of red, and you’re on you’re way to serving up Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza.
- Store Bought Pizza Crust – Most grocery store bakeries offer fresh pizza dough. Skip making it yourself and use this shortcut for perfect crust every time.
- Red Onion – This adds a layer of savory flavor while also having its own natural sweetness.
- Pears – Pick pears that are ripe, but still firm.
- Olive Oil – Use a neutral flavored olive oil to help sauté your onions and pears.
- Sugar – Helps bring out the natural sweetness in the pairs and onions while also helping to caramelize them a little.
- Red Wine – Always pick a wine that you would drink. Since the bottle is already open, go ahead and pour a glass!
- Balsamic Vinegar – Adds tang and also another layer of sweetness.
- Boursin Cheese – A soft cheese from France, it comes in different flavors such as garlic and fine herbs, pepper, and shallots and chive.
- Fresh Thyme – Adds an herbaceous and lemony note.
- Salt – Season to taste.
How to Make Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza
Skip ordering takeout and make your own pizza at home. With a few tips and tricks, it’s never been easier.
Time needed: 1 hour
Get out your trust cast iron skillet and preheat your oven! Making pizza at home has never been easier.
- Prep
Allow your pizza dough to rest and come to room temperature. This will make it easy to stretch. Preheat your oven to 475 and if using a cast iron skillet allow it to heat in the oven.
- Sauté
Heat a large skillet over low heat. Add your olive oil. Add the onions and sauté them for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar and a pinch of salt over the onions and allow them to cook until caramelized.
- Pears
Add the pears to the same pan. Pour in the wine and balsamic vinegar, and allow the pears and onions to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the juices are deduced. The pears should be tender but not too soft.
- Crust
Stretch your crust out into the size of the cast iron skillet. Carefully removed the skillet from the oven and grease it. Place the stretched crust into the cast iron skillet. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Top
Arrange your onions and pears over the dough. Crumble chunks of the Boursin over the pizza. Sprinkle with thyme
- Bake
Allow your pizza to bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is puffed and golden brown.
Variations
- Apples – For a different autumn inspired take on this sweet and savory pizza, replace the pears in this recipe for apples.
- Blue Cheese – For a tangier version, use a blue cheese such as Gorgonzola in place of the Boursin.
- Rosemary – Add a woodsy flavor by sprinkling chopped rosemary over the top of this pizza.
Tools
You don’t need a pizza oven to achieve the perfect crispy on the outside, airy inside crust with a bite. A cast iron skillet is your best friend for this recipe. It not only conducts heat evenly, it’s build to handle cooking at high temperatures making it both oven and grill safe.
Top Tip for Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza
Using fresh store bough pizza dough is a great way to achieve homemade flavor in an effortless way. However it needs to be treated like fresh dough. Always allow it to rest out at room temperature in a warm dry spot before rolling or stretching it. This will make it easy to handle and relax all of the glutens in the dough.
Caramelized Pear and Onion Pizza
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 1 cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lbs store bought pizza dough, rested
- 3 pears Bartlet Bosc, or Anjou
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3-5 oz Boursin cheese
- fresh thyme
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Allow your pizza dough to sit out and come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. If using a cast iron skillet preheat your cast iron skillet in the oven.
- Heat a large skillet over low heat and add the olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the sugar over the onions along with a pinch of salt. Allow them to cook on low until caramelized, stirring often.
- Add the pears, wine, and balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the pears are tender, but not too soft.
- Stretch out your pizza dough to the size of the cast iron skillet. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and grease it. Lower the crust into the skillet and drizzle it with olive oil.
- Top the pizza dough with the onion and pear mixture. Crumble the Boursin cheese over the top. Sprinkle thyme on top.
- Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese beginning to melt.
- Slice and enjoy!
Delicious! I don’t think the amount of pears is in the recipe though! I used two.