Sausage, pepper and shallot pizza

This happens to me a lot. A while back, I didn’t know what I was in the mood for, and dinnertime was approaching. I surveyed the fridge. I had people coming for dinner and had to make a decision. There was a lot in there, just not much of any one thing. Then I spied some leftover grilled Italian sausage. I knew I had a couple pounds of shredded cheese as well, so I decided on a couple of quick pizza’s.

With the expected guests, two large pizzas would be just about the right amount, given we'd be nibbling on fruit and crackers before hand. Here’s what I did.

Crust

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2-1/2 cups of flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 tbs. instant yeast

2 cups (approximate) water

Corn meal

Sauce

1 can of tomato paste

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

White pepper

Olive oil

White wine

On top

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

3 grilled Italian sausages, sliced

2 large shallots, sliced thin

1-1/2 lb. shredded mozzarella

2 cups shredded parmesan

Olive oil

Preparation

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, olive oil and yeast together and then add the water, a little at a time, until the dough comes together. Knead the dough and let it rise. For the sauce mix the ingredients together, stirring well. Let that rest.

Divide the dough in half and roll out each half into a 17” circle. Sprinkle two pizza pans with corn meal. Slide the dough circles on to each pan and fold the edge over to make a crust. Spread a layer of the sauce on the dough. Add half of the bell pepper, shallots and sausage to each pizza. Top each with half of the mozzarella and one cup of the parmesan. Sprinkle each with white pepper.

Bake the pizza at 450º until golden brown, but half way through cooking, place the upper pizza on the lower shelf and the lower pizza on the upper shelf. When the pizza’s come out of the oven, sprinkle on some extra virgin olive oil and let them rest five minutes before slicing.

Serving

Serve many slices of pizza with a crisp salad, a plate of carrots, celery and bell pepper strips and lots of wine. For dessert, a little fruit will finish off the meal.