Sausage & Peppers Pizza
Is this really sausage & peppers? No, not in the traditional sense, but there's sausage and peppers, so that's what I'm calling it.
This pie is all about balancing some heat with some sweet. My favorite combo.
This pizza has some of my favorite ingredients on it: spicy chicken sausage, Mama Lil's Peppers and pineapple. Say what you will about pineapple on pizza but I'm a fan. A big one. I find that it adds the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out spicy sausage. All that atop a perfect blend of fresh mozzarella and provolone cheese...seriously, you guys. So good.
Part of what makes creating your own pizzas at home fun is the freedom to do what you want. Be creative! For that reason, I'm only ever going to give you some tips and a list of ingredients. Put however much of each topping on that you want! My only piece of advice: less is more when it comes to pizza. Too many toppings will weigh down your crust. Too much sauce will make it soggy.
Go to town! Have fun!
Enjoy!
Sausage & Peppers Pizza
Prep Time: 3 hours 20 minutes (includes rise time for the dough)
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 3 Hours and 45 minutes
Servings: 2-3
INGREDIENTS:
1 Pizza Dough Ball
3-4 Tbsp of Tomato Sauce
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Provolone Cheese, grated (non-smoked)
Isernio's Chicken Sausage or other brand, ground
Red Pepper Flake
Mama Lil's Peppers, diced
Pineapple, diced
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. You want the oven to be HOT!
Cook your chicken sausage on the stove over medium-high heat. To make it spicy, add red pepper flake. Remove from heat and drain excess oil by putting sausage on a plate with paper towels. Set aside.
Dice up peppers and pineapple, set aside.
Tear up the fresh mozzarella. Grate the provolone. I can never find pre-shredded provolone, so I like to buy non-smoked provolone slices and grind it up using a food processor.
Prepare your pizza dough. Using your hands, slowly work the dough into a round(ish) shape, roughly 14-16" in diameter. Create a small crust around the perimeter of the dough but slightly rolling and twisting the edge of the dough at the same time. I like to press down on the crust so that it keeps its shape.
Top your pizza with 3-4 Tbsp of sauce, place fresh pieces of mozzarella around the entire pizza and sprinkle with grated provolone over the top. You want to make sure to not over cheese the pizza - you still want to see a little bit of the sauce! Finish the pie with the rest of the toppings.
Bake on a pizza stone for 15-18 minutes.
Pull the pizza from the oven when the cheese is nice and melted and starting to look golden brown. Wait 5 minutes to slice and serve!