I've been quite the little snackophile recently, but it helps. I'm not smoking!!! Keeping busy in the kitchen distracts me with delicious results.
Anyway, just wanted to share another recipe for a great pizza I made the other night. You'll have enough ingredients for two... so I'm planning on bringing a second to my quit buddy's place soon. 🙂 Movie night with pizza and beer instead of scotch and cigarettes.
**Sweet Heat: Sausage Pesto Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Ricotta**
INGREDIENTS:
Olive Oil
Hot Italian Turkey Sausage
1 large red onion- thinly sliced.
1/2 head garlic- minced.
(optional prosciutto or bacon)
Pizza Dough- rested. Give it some time to rise if frozen or refridgerated. (You can make some, or get some from the super market or your local shop.)
Whole Wheat Flour for dusting
1/3 cup Pesto Sauce (Approx)
1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (Approx)
Mozerella cheese
ricotta cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil leaves- chiffonade
16 oz of chilled Dark Beer
METHOD:
1.) Move rack to middle of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Leave baking sheet or pizza stone in oven to get nice and hot.
2.) Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Slit casing on sausage and remove. Sautee sausage until nicely browned and delicious. Remove sausage with slotted spoon retaining oil in pan. Move to separate dish.
3.) In same pan, sautee onions on medium heat until translucent and caramelized. Keep stirring so they don't burn! Add minced garlic and sautee until tender. Remove from heat.
4.) Fry Prosciutto or bacon until slightly crispy (but not too much as it will cook further in the oven!) Crumble and set aside.
5.) Sprinkle flour on counter and push down dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Flatten and shape until you form a thin, thin crust. (Props to people who can do the whole toss in the air business!) Set on parchment paper cut to the shape of the baking sheet (which should be getting all hot and bothered in the oven.)
6.) Spread in a thin layer pesto over dough, swirling out through the edges. Think to yourself, "Pesto is sooo much more delicious than a cigarette..."
7.) Add marinara on top of pesto and repeat. (BTW the 1/3 and 1/2 cup measurements are estimates... I eyeballed it when I made it. Put on enough, but just make sure you don't over do it. Too much sauce = a drippy pizza and soggy dough.)
8.) Lightly sprinkle with oregano.
9.) Spread thinly shredded mozzarella cheese in a light layer over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan.
10.) Evenly distribute sausage, caramelized onion & garlic, prosciutto/bacon over surface of pizza. (You'll have leftovers...)
11.) Spoon small teaspoonfuls of ricotta cheese over pizza.
12.) More cheese! Add another light layer of mozzarella and parmesan.
13.) Remove baking sheet from oven and slide under parchment paper. (The preheated sheet will help crisp up the crust.) Place pizza in pre-heated over and bake for ~20 mins until dough is lightly brown, and cheese is melty, bubbly and delicious.
14.) Pour beer into glass and enjoy whilst twiddling thumbs and waiting in eager delight for pizza goodness. Relish in your new powerful sense of smell as you salivate.
15.) Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh basil.
16.) Eat and enjoy the flavors as you enjoy the explosion of your non-smoker's tastebuds!!!!
-Snarly.
