Caramelized Onion and Sausage Pizza

Anita and I like pizza. When we eat pizza out, we have it with everything including anchovies; nom, nom, nom. But when we cook it at home, we make specialty pizza's with rather unique combinations of ingredients.This pizza is one of those; a combination of caramelized onions, crumbled hot Italian sausage, mozarella and Parmesan cheeses and fresh basil leaves. We find it delicious.

PREP TIME:            20 minutes

COOKING TIME:     30 minutes

SERVES:                Two adults.  Makes one  11 inch pizza with 2/3 of dough reserved.      

                                                       

INGREDIENTS:
Pizza Crust
1 # Safeway or other pizza dough or a pre-made thin pizza crust
Pizza Topping
10-12 oz spicy Italian Sausage, skinned and crumbled
2 red onions, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup mozzarella, grated
½ cup whole fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated fresh

PREPARATION:

Crust From Pre-Made Dough
1. Cut the soft dough into thirds. Make this pizza from one of the thirds and freeze the other two thirds for another time.

2. Let crust rise covered in a warm room for about one hour.

3. On a powdered bread board, roll out the crust until about 1/8" thick. 

4. In a lightly oiled saute pan, on medium to medium-high heat, fry the pizza dough on one side until it can be lifted and flipped with a spatula; usually several minutes.
5. Flip and fry the other side for a couple of minutes more. Remove crust and place on a lightly-oiled cookie sheet for assembly.

Topping
1. Fry the caseless, crumbled sausage in the same saute pan in a little EVOO until cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan, dry a little and reserve for later.

2. In the same pan, gently fry the onions until caramelized; usually 30 minutes or so. Remove the onions and reserve for later.

ASSEMBLY AND FINAL COOKING:
1. Spread caramelized onions evenly on crust.
2. Layer with reserved sausage.
3. Spread sliced mozzarella on top. Dust with grated parmesan cheese.
4. Place in 400* oven for a few minutes to melt cheeses.

SERVING:
Remove pizza from oven, cut into eigths and place whole raw basil leaves on each piece. A hearty red wine or dark beer complements the flavor of the sausage and caramelized onions.

SIDES:
I prefer a good Caesar salad with an anchovy on top and a few large croutons.

TIPS:
The overall time can be shortened considerably by preparing in the following order:
1. Start with the dough and get it to the rising stage.
2. Cook the sausage and reserve.
3. Caramelize the onions and reserve.
4. When the dough has risen and you have formed the crust fry it as before.
5. Assemble the pizza, melt the cheeses and warm the ingredients and serve.

Good eating,
Tom and Anita