Pizza

Sort-of Homemade Pizza with Sausage & Zuc

Serves: 4-6

OBJ: TCW be able to make pizza that is uniquely hers while taking a few short-cutsJ

Ingredients:

Quick Sauce:

1 14.5 oz  can plum tomatoes

3 TBS olive oil

½ of a small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 tsp dried parsley

4-5 fresh basil leaves, optional but highly recommended

S & P

Dough:

1 store-bought dough, left out for at least 3 hours in a covered bowl to rise

Toppings:

2 green zucchini sliced to ¼ in rounds

2 sweet or hot sausages

1 Cup  low moisture shredded mozzarella cheese

2 TBS olive oil

S & P

Grated parmesan cheese

** Pizza Stone**

Procedures:

                                            

Make sauce:

1.      In a large- medium sauté pan, heat oil over medium flame

2.      Add onions, garlic, parsley and 1 tsp salt & pepper

3.      Keep flame on medium-low and sauté veggies for about 5-8 minutes, or until onions are translucent

4.      Using your hands, rip the plum tomatoes into chunks and add them all and juice to sauté pan

5.      Add a pinch more S & P and bring to boil

6.      Once boiling, cover, turn heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes

7.      After 15-20 minutes, turn off flame, uncover sauce, add torn basil and let sit for about ½ hour, stirring occasionally (this allows the sauce to thicken slightly)

Toppings:

1.      Preheat oven to 425 degrees (Place pizza stone in oven at this time to start heating)

2.      In a medium sized bowl, toss the sliced zucchini with olive oil and 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper

3.      Spread on baking sheet and let roast for 20-25 minutes

4.      Place the sausages in small baking dish and cover  with foil, roast in oven for 30 minutes, when there are 10 minutes left, uncover the sausage so that they brown

5.      After sausages have been taken out of oven, let cool a bit and slice

Pizza:

1.      Roll out dough to about 10 inches across

2.      Carefully take your pizza stone out of oven and transfer dough to stone

3.      Spread sauce over dough, you don’t have to use all the sauce, it depends on your level of sauce-liking

4.      Spread the mozzarella around, push the cheese into sauce a bit

5.      Top with sausage and zucchini slices

6.      Sprinkle with grated cheese

7.      Place in oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbling

8.      Take stone with pizza on top out of oven and place on cutting board

9.      Bring to table, slice and serve

*** I like to assemble my pizza on the stone because I find it quite difficult to transfer an assembled pizza onto a stone, but if you feel inclined to do that, go ahead and good luck! You don’t NEED a pizza stone to make this but I really really encourage you to use one, it makes a world a difference. A baking sheet could easily be the replacement. Also, you don’t have to serve the pizza on the heated stone but I have been doing this for years and it has changed my idea of eating pizza. I used to think the first slice was the best because it was the hottest and crunchiest and everything thereafter was luke-warm and soggy. Now, I can slowly eat my pizza and each slice is piping hot and crunchy! ***