eggplant Pizza

[Kay1018]

GARLICKY EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND BASIL PIZZA

4 medium Japanese eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil (I use the roasted garlic flavored oil)

3-4 cups shredded pizza cheese blend (I like Sargento's or Kraft's six cheese blend)
2 1-pound bags of refrigerated pizza dough (Trader Joe's has good crust, or you can buy frozen bread dough and thaw two of those puppies out) *You can also used the pre-made pizza shells like Mama Santa's or Boboli*

1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved, seeded, chopped
6 ounces fresh soft goat cheese (such as Montrachet), coarsely crumbled
15 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced (I use the minced garlic in the jar)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (about 2 bunches)
Cornmeal (for raw dough on the pizza pans/stones- to keep the pizzas from sticking)



Preheat broiler. Arrange eggplant slices on large baking sheet. Brush oil over both sides of eggplant. Season with salt and pepper. Broil until eggplant is tender and begins to brown, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Cool.
Preheat oven to 400°F. **If you are using raw dough, sprinkle a little cornmeal on your pizza pan/stone and roll out the doughs onto pizza sheets/stones. **If you're using a premade crust, then skip the cornmeal and just put the crusts on the pans.** Brush a little olive oil on each pizza dough/shell. Top with eggplant slices, chopped tomatoes, goat cheese, garlic slices (or the minced stuff from the jar) and fresh basil. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pizza. Bake until cheese melts and pizza edges are brown and crisp, about 12 minutes for premade crusts, and 20 minutes for raw dough. Let stand 5-7 minutes to cool. Cut into wedges and serve.