roasted eggplant + caramelized onion pizza

​- mains -

everyday when my parents know i'm cooking, the first question when they get home is often 'what's for dinner?' and when i told them eggplant pizza, they both seemed less than enthusiastic at the thought of that. that was until they actually tried it – both asked for seconds!
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makes 2 pizzas

INGREDIENTS

1.5 c finely chopped baby bella or white button mushrooms
tsp red pepper flake
1 tsp dried italian herb blend
1 tbsp butter
1 white onion, caramelized until jammy (see how i do it here_
1/2 c onion dip (this can be french, caramelized, etc... doesn't really matter!)
6-10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced length-wise
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 in. cubes
1/2 c tbsp olive oil,
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, split in 1/2
14 oz fresh mozzarella
1/4 c sliced sundried tomatoes
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 c fresh basil, julienned
1/4 c chives, chopped   (optional)
approx. 16 oz fresh pizza dough stretched to your pan​

DIRECTIONS

1. preheat your oven to 475°F.
​2. put 2 tbsp olive oil down on two pizza pans or sheet trays and evenly spread it out. put your stretched pizza dough out on that and set it aside.
3. on a medium sheet tray, toss the eggplant with the pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread the eggplant out in an even layer. once your oven is preheated, put that in, bake for 10 minutes, flip the eggplant, then cook for another 10 minutes. after that, move the eggplant over and add the garlic in the empty space. turn the oven down to 350° and bake for another 6 minutes. pull that out, set it aside, and crank the oven up again to 500°. 
4. in a medium nonstick skillet, add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and heat on medium high heat. once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and turn the heat up to high. cook them, stirring occasionally until they are very brown. add the red pepper flake, italian herb blend, and butter. once the butter is melted, cook for another minute, add salt and then set them aside. 
5. stir the caramelized onion into the onion dip and spread roughly 2/3 of the mixture onto both of the crusts, leaving a little bit of a border.
6. tear up the mozzarella and place it on top of the onion sauce. then add the eggplant, mushrooms, garlic, 1/2 of the chives, and the sundried tomato. top with little blobs of any leftover sauce. b7. bake the pizzas at 500° for 2 minutes, then turn the oven down to 400 and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese is melty. 
7. once the pizzas are out of the oven, top them with the lemon zest, chives, and basil. slice & serve.