Classic Sausage, Onion, and Green Pepper Pizza

An Itlaian favorite...

Total Prep / Cook Time (not including dough / sauce) : 45-60 minutes.
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.

Ingredients:
Note: all recipes on this site are scaled to a 14" round large pizza, for larger or smaller pizzas, please scale accordingly.

1 Traditional Dough
3/4 Cup Classic Red Tomato Sauce
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella
8 oz. Ground Italian Sausage (mild or spicy)
1 Large White Onion
1 large Green Pepper
1 Garlic Clove (minced)
Flour
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

 To Prepare toppings:

Cut onion in half. Julienne each onion half into slices as long as the onion and approximately 1/8 inch in width.

Cut green pepper in half vertically, remove stem and base.

Scoop out and discard seeds and white portion of pepper.

Julienne each pepper half into slices as long as the pepper and approximately 1/8 inch thick.

Toss the onions and peppers in a bowl with ½oz of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of fresh Oregano, 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt, and 1 teaspoon of Course Ground Black Pepper.

Pour ¾oz olive oil into a medium sized sauté pan and heat to medium-high.

Once pan is heated, add the ground sausage and lightly brown.
_{*You do not want to cook the sausage fully because it will still be cooking once the pizza is in the oven and you want to avoid overcooking as this will result in dry, less flavorful sausage.}

Keeping as much oil in the pan as possible, remove the sausage and place in a bowl to cool.

Using the same sauté pan, heat the oil once again.
_{*If more oil is needed to coat the pan, add a little more.}

Once oil is heated, add the onion and pepper.

Cook until onions are translucent and peppers begin to soften. _{*Using the same oil that the sausage was cooked in will add to the complexity of flavor of the vegetables and will add a nice compliment to the overall taste of the pizza.}

If desired, add minced garlic clove to onion and pepper while sautéing.

Remove from heat and let cool.

 To Prepare Pizza Itself:

Preheat oven to 550 degrees
_{*if using a pizza stone, make sure the oven is preheating/heated for at least twenty minutes prior to putting the pizza into the oven.}

Sprinkle a thin layer of flour on a flat preparing surface, place dough ball onto flour and roll to get a light coating of flour.

Using a rolling pin or your hands, stretch dough out evenly to the size of the pan.

Prepare the pan using either cornmeal or olive oil, and place dough onto pan.

Spread sauce evenly across dough.

Sprinkle a light layer of shredded cheese onto pizza to act as a base to hold other toppings.

Evenly distribute onions and peppers across entire pizza.

Crumble the sausage across the entire pizza making sure there is even coverage.

Spread remainder of the Mozzarella across pizza.

If desired, add a light sprinkling of cheddar or other cheeses atop the mozzarella.

Place pizza in oven and cook for 10 to 13 minutes, until crust is golden brown, and cheese has just begun to brown.

To enhance the flavor of the crust try a garlic oil glaze.

_{Recipe By: Ed}