Sausage Fennel and Caramelized Onion Pizza
Fennel and sausage are a classic combination for very good reason. This pizza takes that flavor pairing a step further with the addition of caramelized onions. All-together the flavors make for one delicious pizza.
If you don’t have any caramelized onions on hand, you can get them started first and have them going while you roast the fennel and brown the sausage. I used a hot Italian pork sausage, but feel free to use whatever sausage you typically buy or already have.
Sausage Fennel and Caramelized Onion Pizza
1 round pizza dough
1 fennel bulb, fronds reserved
1 Tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 links (6 ½ oz) hot Italian pork sausage
1 tsp olive oil
½ cup caramelized onions
About 1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
About 1 cup pecorino romano cheese, shredded
Place a baking stone (or an upside-down baking sheet) on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°. Cut the fennel bulb in half, cutting out the core, and slice. Toss the fennel slices with 1 Tb olive oil and 1 tsp salt and spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the edges are browning. Set aside. Bump the oven temperature up to 500°.
In a small skillet heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium/medium high heat. Remove the sausage from the casing and brown in the skillet, breaking up the sausage into smaller pieces as you cook it. When the sausage is cooked through, remove it with a slotted spoon onto a paper-lined plate. Blot dry with a paper towel.
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll the pizza dough out into a 13-14-inch circle. Spread about 1 cup of the mozzarella out over the dough, leaving a gap around the edges. Scatter the caramelized onions over the cheese, as evenly as possible. Top with the roasted fennel, the remaining ½ cup mozzarella, sausage, and then the pecorino romano.
Slide the parchment paper onto the preheated baking stone and place on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 6 minutes, then rotate the pizza 180° so that it browns evenly and puncture any large air bubbles that have formed in the crust. Bake for an additional 6 minutes, or until the tops and edges are golden brown. While the pizza is baking, roughly chop the reserved fennel fronds. When done, remove the stone, and the pizza, from the oven. Slide the pizza off of the parchment paper onto a cutting board. Top with the fennel fronds. Slice and serve the pizza once cool enough to eat.
Loved this pizza! Wasn’t sure how it would taste without any kind of sauce, but the caramelized onions gave it just the right amount of moisture and added a wonderful flavor component. Our guests commented, “This is really good -the flavors blend well – everything is balanced just right!” I made the dough early in the day, then prepared all the toppings ahead of time, so all we had to do was assemble once our guests arrived. Will definitely be making this again!