Winter Pizza Inspiration (recipe: Caramelized Onions) (2024)

FAQs

Should onions be cooked before putting on pizza? ›

Onions. Scatter thinly sliced raw onions over your pie and they'll probably cook through, but you'll be missing the chance for an easy pizza enhancer. Mellow the sharp, pungent bite of yellow onions by caramelizing, or slowly cooking them until softened and fragrant over low heat.

They add a delicious and savory flavor that complements many pizza styles. Onions come in different varieties, each with its own distinct taste, so you can choose the one that suits your preferences best.

Consider grilling, roasting or sautéing vegetables before putting them on the crust; this not only adds another element of flavor to the toppings, but releases much of the moisture. Be sure to use a slotted spoon when removing them from the pan and place them on a paper towel at room temperature.

Their sweetness can complement the savory and sometimes tangy flavors of pizza toppings, like tomato sauce, cheese, and various meats. Brown onions, on the other hand, have a stronger and more pungent flavor that may overpower the other ingredients. Color: Red onions add a pop of vibrant color to pizzas.

Onions. Some might argue with me here that onions don't need to be precooked, especially if they're chopped up really small. If that's your preference, use raw onions with my blessing! My preference, however, is to cook onions down until they're soft and sweet.

Instructions. Melt the butter in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and 2 pinches of salt, and stir until the onion slices are coated in the melted butter. Cook, stirring every 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are very soft and turn amber in color.

Most onion pizzas use regular yellow onions. I like combining yellow, red and long green onions together with a few shallots and a touch of garlic. You know I'm lying, when did you ever know me to use a touch of garlic. When making this pizza use nice fresh onions.

While it may seem like a harmless pairing, Italians tend to use them separately in their dishes. Garlic is used to add a pungent flavour to dishes, while onions add a sweet and slightly savoury flavour. Mixing the two can result in an overpowering and unbalanced taste that can ruin your dish.

Raw Vegetables: Many vegetables can be sliced or chopped and placed directly on the pizza without pre-cooking. Examples include bell peppers, tomatoes, red onions, and mushrooms.

In these cases, there are two solutions. You can either make sure you're cooking the pizza on the bottom rack or use a pizza stone. A pizza stone might be the best solution here. Keep the pizza stone in the oven while it's pre-heating so that it can warm up.

Do you put raw broccoli on pizza? ›

To split large florets, slice them lengthwise, straight down the middle of their stalks. I prefer to steam the broccoli for a few minutes so that it is crisp-tender before putting it on the pizza. You can also use leftover roasted broccoli if you have that on hand.

Does It Really Matter Which You Use? If you are cooking them, in almost all cases red onions, yellow onions, and white onions can be swapped for one another. "Flavor-wise, the cooked dishes will taste virtually the same using red, yellow, or white onion," says Weinstein.

The Toppings

Once the cheese, sauce, and crust are established, you can add traditional Italian toppings like pepperoni, homemade sausage, onions and black olives.

Worth using a white onion. Marinade thinly sliced onion in olive oil and salt a good few hours before makin your pizza. You wont believe how good it makes pizza taste. A raw onion carries a much harsher flavour.

Onions, peppers and mushrooms don't have to be cooked first. But, cooking then first gives you the opportunity to add flavor.

Sauteing onions: Softens them, most people prefer not to run into raw onions in their sauce. Onions will cook in a sauce, but very slowly, so frying them before makes sure they will be soft even if your sauce has a fast cooking time. Releases sugars, making them taste sweeter.

Should I saute garlic before putting it on pizza? Yes, most people prefer the pungency and bite of raw garlic to be softened by cooking. With pizza, the best way to do that is sauté the garlic before hand or, as is the case here, gently cook it in butter.

You gotta keep 'em wet

I start by adding a whole cup of water to the pan, and continue adding cups of water to the pan as they cook. This keeps the environment from being too drying, and keeps the onions from browning before they caramelize, and is especially important if you're using your oven's convection setting.