Farm Fresh: Roasted vegetables make yummy pizza topping

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Farm Fresh: Roasted vegetables make yummy pizza topping

Thursday, September 16, 1999

Tested by Betsy Kline

It only took a week of staring at the colorful Roasted Vegetable Pizza on this month's page of the Cooking Light calendar hanging above our desk to drive us to hunger. We sampled and we savored every morsel.

This low-calorie pizza (only 8.8 grams of fat per serving, most of it from the refrigerated pizza crust and provolone) is terrific fall fare: autumnal reds and yellows on a golden crust. And it's full of farm freshness: squash, potatoes, red peppers, sweet onions and fresh herbs. It's scrumptious.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 small red potatoes, each cut into 8 wedges (if the potatoes are large, make smaller chunks) 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 small yellow squash, cut into 2-inch pieces 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces 1 small sweet onion, cut into 12 wedges 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded sharp provolone (we used plain provolone)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Unroll pizza dough onto large baking sheet coated with cooking spray (we used a baking stone); fold under edges of dough to form an 11-inch circle. Bake at 425 degrees for 7 minutes; set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Combine thyme leaves and next 8 ingredients (thyme through onion) in a bowl; toss well. Place vegetable mixture in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees. Sprinkle half of cheese over prepared pizza crust. Arrange roasted vegetables over cheese, and top with remaining half of cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 293 calories; 8.8 grams fat; 10 grams protein; 2.8 grams fiber.