Italian sausage, red onion and pepperoncini pizza
What would your last meal on earth be? The answer for me is pizza. Full stop. It is the best food on earth. Of all the cookbooks I have written, Pizza Night was the most fun to eat my way through!
XO, km
THE DISH:
Italian sausage, red onion & pepperoncini pizza | serves 2
THE STUFF:
1 lb pizza dough
1 (15) oz can crushed tomatoes (or pizza sauce)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
EVOO
Kosher S+P
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 Italian sausage links (hot, sweet or combo!), casing removed, crumbled
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini
1/4 cup basil leaves
THE HOW-TO:
Make sure your pizza dough is at room temperature. If you bought dough, take it out of the packaging and leave on a floured cutting board for a couple hours. It needs to be at room temperature to roll out properly.
Place a pizza stone in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450°F. Once the oven has reached 450°F, continue to heat for 30 more minutes without opening the door. The key to great pizza is a REALLY hot oven. Like, hot AF for realzies.
In a small bowl, stir tother the onion, vinegar, 1/2 tsp EVOO and season with S+P. Set aside.
On a floured surface, roll out the pizza to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a floured pizza peel and spread the tomato sauce all over, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with cheese and then distribute the Italian sausage, onions and pepperoncini. Brush the outside edge of the dough with EVOO and season the whole pizza lightly with S+P.
Carefully slide the pizza from the peel onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the sausage is cooked through. Using the peel, transfer the pizza to a cutting board and scatter basil all over the top.
Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve right away.