Caramelized Onion and Red Potato Pizza

You might be saying to yourself, “Potatoes on pizza??”  Well, hang with me for a few minutes, because this pizza is good.  Really good.  I must admit it came about because my husband accidentally took my car keys with him to work yesterday, so I was stuck at home.  Being stuck at home all day = making something up for dinner because we’re just about out of groceries.  I looked around in the pantry and fridge and decided I would try a new kind of pizza.  We love homemade pizza, and I usually stick with our favorites, BBQ chicken and cheeseburger, but this one I made yesterday is my new favorite.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:
1 pizza dough disc (My favorite pizza dough recipe is here).                          
2 large onions,
1/2 cup butter, divided
1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
2 Red potatoes
1 t. dried rosemary
1/4 t. dried thyme
1 t. seasoned salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
6-8 slices provolone cheese, or 2 cups shredded pepper jack, or a combination of both.

For the Caramelized Onions:
Cut onions in half, from top to bottom, then slice.

Sliced onions

 Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat.  When butter has melted, add onions.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Cook the onions over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes.  You need to stir these every so often, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan.

Onions should look like this when done.

Onions are done when they turn golden brown and are very tender.

For the Potatoes:
Wash the potatoes off, but keep skins on (this adds a bit of color).  Slice potatoes, very thin.

Thinly sliced potatoes

 In a small pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter.  Add potatoes, 1 teaspoon of rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon of thyme, and 1 teaspoon seasoned salt.

Saute these for about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally to allow the potatoes to get slightly browned on all sides.

Potatoes should look like this when done.

You want the potatoes to be cooked all the way, but not too soft.  Remove from heat, and use pan for the butter sauce.

Butter Sauce:
Using the same pan you used for the potatoes (this will help to soak up some of the savory flavors from the potatoes), melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.  Add the chopped garlic and saute over low heat for about 5-7 minutes.

To Assemble:
Place your pizza dough on the baking pan.  Top with butter sauce. Place onions and potatoes evenly over entire pizza.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese; cover with provolone, being careful to cover entire pizza.  Bake in a 450 oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is slightly browned and crust is done.

Please note:  this recipe will only make one pizza.  You will probably have some onions leftover, so look for other recipes that call for caramelized onions.  I also put leftover grilled chicken on ours, because my husband needs his protein, and it tasted great!  Get creative with your leftovers and you can come up with some great pizza toppings!