What's For Dinner: Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese

I was inspired to make this pizza after another recent happy hour visit to Salt in Boulder. This time around, D's mom was with us, and along with our cocktails, we shared two appetizers -- a plate of flatbread and homemade hummus, and the flatbread of the day, which happened to be topped with goat cheese, tomatoes, and basil pesto. Soo good! I kind of wimped out a little bit with my version, however, as I cheated and used a store-bought whole wheat crust. I really ought to have made my own flatbread, but for some reason making my own dough always seems a bit daunting to me! Regardless; I think this pizza came out really well, and I would totally make it again. Next time, for sure, though, I will make my own flatbread. No more excuses!

Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese

makes eight servings

For the caramelized onions:

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4" slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions.

2. Stir occasionally during the first 15 minutes of cooking. The onions will soften and become translucent.

3. During the next 10 minutes of cooking, stir the onions about every minute or so to prevent them from sticking to the skillet bottom and burning.

4. The caramelized onions are done once the onions are lightly browned; the entire cooking process should take about 25-30 minutes.

For the roasted tomatoes:

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

dried rosemary

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut the tomatoes into even slices. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.

3. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil. Scootch the tomatoes around on the baking sheet a little bit to make sure both sides are coated with the oil.

4. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes.

5. Season the slices with sea salt, black pepper, and dried rosemary.

6. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the slices are slightly shriveled.

To assemble the pizza:

1 whole wheat pizza crust

olive oil

fine sea salt

dried rosemary

caramelized onions

roasted tomatoes

goat cheese

1. Drizzle olive oil over the pizza crust. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat the crust with the oil.

2. Season the crust with sea salt and dried rosemary.

3. Generously spread the caramelized onions over the pizza crust. Next, add a layer of roasted tomatoes. Finally, top with crumbled goat cheese.

4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. (A longer baking time will lead to a crunchier crust.)

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.