Name: Spicy Sweet Sausage and Pepper Pizza
Cook time: 6 h
Yield: Four 12-inch (30 cm) pizzas

Spicy Sweet Sausage and Pepper Pizza

Softened capsicums and Italian sausages with blistered skins served on sandwich rolls are an Italian-American staple. We took this favourite and made it into a pizza, swapping crusty Italian rolls for supple pizza dough and adding slightly-caramelised onions, tomatoes and classic mozzarella and Pecorino Romano.

You’ll find the combo of sausage and peppers dotting food cart menus throughout New York City, on Superbowl party tables and tailgate spreads, and at almost every Italian festival in the US. Whether they’re served with bread or just a knife and fork, you can count on a few staples: garlic, red chilli flakes and oregano alongside sausage that’s sweet or hot but always highlights Italian spices.

Our recipe’s no different. We take everything great about the original sandwich – hand-held and approachable with a balance of spicy and sweet – and put it on a pizza. Our capsicums get mixed with olive oil and sliced onions and are cooked until soft and just barely blackened (the flames of the Ooni oven help with the roasting, but this can also be done on a stovetop).

We make our sausage at home, incorporating spices, cheese and minced onion with pork mince for a mixture that’s juicy and lightly spiced. Instead of cooking before topping, we put the raw sausage directly on the pizza in small pieces and let it get juicy and crispy in the hot heat of an Ooni.

Difficulty

Servings

Four 12-inch (30 cm) pizzas

Prep Time

1 hour active 4 to 5 hours passive

(if making your own fresh dough, 6 hours total)

By Ooni HQ

Note

If using a conventional oven, you may want to cook the sausage before topping the pizza to ensure everything is fully cooked before you dig in. This recipe would suit a variety of pizza styles, but we think our classic pizza dough is a great fit – just make sure to set aside 4 to 5 hours before starting to cook.

Method

1: For the sausage, put 20 grams minced garlic, 30 grams finely chopped onion, 15 grams dried oregano, 10 grams red chilli flakes, 20 grams kosher salt, 20 grams Parmesan and 2 grams black pepper with 900 grams pork mince in a large bowl.

Using your hands, mix together all of the ingredients until fully incorporated. Cook off a small piece to test for seasoning in a pan and adjust if necessary.

Tip: To make the incorporation even easier, combine all non-meat ingredients in a food processor and blend into a paste, then combine with the pork using your hands.

2: For the peppers and onions, preheat your oven to 340°C on the stone baking board inside.

(Use an infrared thermometer to quickly and accurately check the temperature of the stone.)

3: Slice the capsicums and onions into 1 centimetre strips.

Toss with olive oil, salt and 5 grams dried Italian oregano, place on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

4: Cook until soft and slightly browned, removing the pan from the oven (wearing your Ooni pizza gloves) and using a spatula to stir, for about 8 minutes.

Tip: If you want to cook your capsicums and onions on your stovetop, simply heat the olive oil over high heat in a medium saute pan, add the peppers, onions, salt and oregano to the pan and cook until softened.

5: When the capsicums and onions are cooked, increase the heat of your oven, aiming for 450°C to 500°C on the stone baking board, using your thermometer to check the temperature.

6: Place a dough ball on your lightly-floured work surface.

Push the air from the centre out to the edge with your fingers. Stretch the dough out to a 30 cm (12-inch) round base, and then keep your dough on the countertop, or lay the stretched dough over your lightly floured pizza peel.

7: Top with 80 grams of crushed tomatoes.

8: Top with 100 grams of mozzarella cheese.

9: Then add 80 grams of sausage, pinched off in teaspoon-size chunks, and ¼ of the peppers and onions.

Tip: If putting the sausage on raw, be sure to keep the chunks small so that they cook fully in the oven.

10: Sprinkle 10 grams of Pecorino Romano on top.

Pecorino Romano sprinkled on a Sausage Peppers Pizza

11: Launch your pizza into the oven.

Cook your pizza for 60 to 90 seconds, turning every 20 seconds to ensure an even cook.

12: Remove from the oven and top with fresh basil.

13: Slice, serve and enjoy!

14: Repeat for the remaining 3 pizzas.

Ooni HQ

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Equipment