Sausage & Sweet Pepper Pizza with Creamy Vodka Sauce
pizzas topped with creamy vodka sauce, italian sausage, caramelized sweet peppers, fresh mozzarella, shredded fontina cheese, and basil
yield: 2 (10”) pizzas
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 DeLallo Pizza Dough Mix
- 1 lb bulk mild Italian sausage
- 1 lb sweet peppers, sliced ½” (see notes)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small shallot, minced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup DeLallo Tomato Paste
- ¼ cup vodka
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 6 oz fontina cheese, shredded
- fresh basil, for topping
- olive oil
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Follow steps 1 and 2 for the Pizza Dough Mix.
- Meanwhile, heat a 12” skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the sausage. Break up the sausage into small pieces and allow it to brown on all sides, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer the sausage out of the skillet.
- Add another drizzle of olive oil. Add the peppers and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the edges begin to caramelize. Stir in half of the garlic. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the peppers are tender, 5-8 more minutes.
- For the vodka sauce, heat a 12” sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted, add the shallot. Cook for a minute until softened. Stir in the remaining garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Season with a good pinch of salt. Add the red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Stir well, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 minutes to caramelize. Return the heat to medium. Pour in the vodka. Simmer for about 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Stir in the cream. Bring to a gentle simmer for a minute or so. Turn off the heat and let cool.
- Place a pizza stone in the oven (see notes). Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Once the dough has risen, divide it into two equal portions. Shape each portion into a 10” circle.
- For each pizza, drizzle the dough with olive oil and rub to coat. Spread half of the vodka sauce evenly across the dough, leaving a ½” border for the crust. Sprinkle a tablespoon of parmesan over the sauce. Top with half of the fresh mozzarella (season the cheese with a pinch of salt), half of the sausage & peppers, and half of the fontina cheese.
- Transfer each pizza to the pizza stone. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden.
- Top each pizza with fresh basil and finish with more parmesan before slicing.
Notes
- I used a mix of mini bell peppers (¾ lb) and Jimmy Nardello peppers (¼ lb). For the mini bell peppers, remove the stem and seeds, then slice them in quarters. For the Jimmy Nardello peppers, remove the stem and seeds, then slice them into ¼-½” rounds.
- If you don’t have a pizza stone, you could also use a sheet pan. Invert the sheet pan and place a piece of parchment paper on top. Build the pizza right on the parchment paper. Place the entire sheet pan in the oven to bake.