Eggplant pull-apart bread wreath

If you’ve been watching “Baked With Love- Holiday” on Hallmark Channel, then you know all the baking themes in which the contestants have been creating with. Week two of the competition included a cookie wreath, which was such a cute dessert idea for a holiday party! I’m going a little bit against the grain on this one, and making a savory baked wreath. It’s a pizza dough, shaped and decorated like a wreath, stuffed with seasoned eggplant, Italian cheeses and sun dried tomatoes. The top is basted with basil pesto to create the green “wreath” color and adorned with more sun dried tomatoes as ornaments. It is a fabulous appetizer at a holiday party your guests will love!

Ingredients:

-2 packages refrigerated pizza dough (rolls out into a rectangle)

-1 jar sun dried tomatoes

-1 jar basil pesto (or homemade if you prefer)

-Italian cheese blend (shredded)

-1 large eggplant

-Garlic powder

-Black pepper

-Sea salt

Directions:

Start by peeling and slicing the eggplant. Spread them out on paper towels and generously sprinkle with salt to draw out the moisture and bitterness. Cover with another paper towel and let sit for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, you will notice the moisture having been drawn out into the paper towels. Rinse in a colander under cold water and squeeze dry.

In a saute pan, use the oil from the can of sun dried tomatoes to cook the eggplant in.

Warm up the oil, add the eggplant. Sprinkle with garlic powder and black pepper. Saute until soft and translucent. Set aside.

Take one of the pizza dough’s and slice it in half, creating two long rectangles.

One a round pizza pan, use both pieces of dough rectangles to create a circle (the wreath).

Make sure it is wide enough to place eggplant on top of it.

Add cooked eggplant along the top all around the circle. Cover with Italian cheese blend and a few sun dried tomatoes.

Take the second package of pizza dough and slice that one in half the same with you did with the first.

Cover the top of the wreath along the same seams as the bottom dough to create a “sandwich”. Pinch the edges to seal all the goodness inside.

Using a basting brush, baste on the pesto all over the entire dough wreath. Place remaining sun dried tomatoes as ornaments along the top after that.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until puffed up and golden. Enjoy!