SAUSAGE, RED ONION AND WILD MUSHROOM PIZZA (2 pizzas)
“In this age of do-it-yourself everything, don’t feel guilty about using store-bought pizza dough when you’re pinched for time. It’s a perfectly acceptable substitute for homemade. Just make sure that the frozen dough thaws to room temperature before you begin and resist the urge to punch it down or knead it briefly. The dough will be much easier to work with, and it will make for a lighter crust with more of those delightful blistery bubbles of bread, sauce and cheese.” Gourmet Quick Kitchen (a magazine special edition)
one 16 ounce ball purchased fresh pizza dough
2/3 cup finely grated piave or Parmesan cheese
2-1/4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided
½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
coarse Kosher salt
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2-1/2 hut Italian sausages, casings removed
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
7 ounces fresh wild mushrooms (such as stemmed shiitake, oyster and chanterelle) thickly sliced
1-3/4 cups coarsely grated whole milk mozzarella cheese (about 7 ounces), divided
chopped fresh parsley (divided)
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1. Position one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450*. Lightly flour 2 baking sheets. Place dough on work surface; let stand until room temperature, about 20 minutes. Divide dough in half. Press and stretch each piece out on lightly floured surface to a 5 inch round. Sprinkle each with 1/3 cup cheese, ¾ teaspoon rosemary and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper; sprinkle with coarse salt.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage. Saute until brown, breaking into ½ inch pieces with the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add onion to skillet. Saute until crisp tender, about 2 minutes; transfer to plate. Add remaining ½ tablespoon oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and remaining ¾ teaspoon rosemary; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until brown, about 5 minutes. Leaving a ½ inch plain border, top each dough round with ¾ cup mozzarella, then onion, sausage and mushrooms.
3. Bake until crust bottoms are crisp and brown, reversing sheets after 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total. Using a large spatula, transfer pizzas to a work surface. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons mozzarella, then parsley if desired.
from Bon Appetit Magazine, April 6, 2006