Recipe: Broccoli Raab and Sausage Pizza

BROCCOLI RAAB AND SAUSAGE PIZZA

FOR THE TOPPING:
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon (about 2 cloves) minced garlic
4 stems broccoli raab, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons water
Salt
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste
FOR THE PIZZA:
1/3 recipe Basic Pizza Dough (click here for the recipe)
Cornmeal for baking peel* or baking sheet
1 small link (about 3 ounces) uncooked hot Italian-style sausage
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

TO PREPARE THE TOPPING:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onion and saute until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, broccoli raab and water. Cover pan and cook 7-8 minutes. Remove cover. Season mixture with salt and red pepper flakes, then set aside to cool. (Refrigerate if not continuing with recipe at this time.)

ONE HOUR BEFORE BAKING:
Put oven rack in lower 1/3 of oven and place baking stone on rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

While oven is heating, remove dough from refrigerator and turn onto lightly floured work surface. With palms of hands, flatten to thickness of about 1/2 inch.

Generously sprinkle baking sheet with flour, place dough on baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to come to room temperature, 70 degrees to 72 degrees. This will take about 30 minutes, but do not let sit longer than 1 hour before forming and baking. (If kitchen is very cold and your range sits above your oven, place baking sheet of dough on top of stove. Warmth of oven will help dough soften to stretch easily. But don't leave it there more than 10 minutes; it could overproof. Turn dough over once or twice during this time so heat permeates it.)

TO MAKE THE PIZZA:
Place dough on generously floured work surface. Using fingertips, press dough all over so it begins to stretch out. Gently pull to stretch into disc. Dough will be noticeably soft when pulled. Lift by edges, place fists underneath, and move fists outward to stretch dough into circle about 10 to 11 inches in diameter, or size that fits a baking peel or baking sheet. If it resists shaping, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.

Sprinkle baking peel* or back of baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer stretched pizza dough onto it. Brush pizza dough with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread top with onion and broccoli raab mixture. Break up uncooked sausage into walnut-size pieces and scatter on pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan and season with additional salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over pizza crust and toppings.

TO BAKE:
Open oven and carefully slide pizza directly onto baking stone. (Holding peel or baking sheet with both hands, place deep in oven, directly over pizza stone where you want pizza to land. Use firm back-and-forth movement to shake and slide pizza from peel or baking sheet onto stone. As pizza slides off, gently pull peel or baking sheet out from under it.)

Bake 5 minutes. Check and rotate so it bakes evenly. Continue baking 5-7 minutes, until edges begin to get dark brown.

To remove pizza from oven, slide peel under and use to lift pizza out. Transfer to wire rack to sit 2 minutes so some of steam escapes and crust doesn't get soggy. Or, wearing an oven mitt, slide baked pizza onto back of baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to sit.

Place pizza on cutting board and slice into 8 pieces.

*A baking peel is a flat, smooth, shovel-like tool used to slide pizzas onto stones. If you don't have a peel, simply use a flat baking sheet or a rimmed sheet turned upside down.

Makes 1 (10-inch) pizza, 8 servings
Adapted from source: The Best Bread Ever: Great Homemade Bread Using your Food Processor by Charles van Over