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Skillet Sausage and Cheese Pizza

Source of Recipe

From "One-Hour Comfort" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"To get the crispest, crunchiest browned crust on homemade pizza without a pizza stone (or the need to preheat said stone for a long time), take the delightfully unconventional route of using a skillet. You start by rolling out the dough—use store-bought or make your own—and building the pizza right in the skillet. The bottom of the crust gets a jump start toward browning on the stovetop before the skillet is transferred to the oven to bake. The simple no-cook tomato sauce is a comfy bed for Italian sausage, shredded mozzarella, and a little Parmesan. Let the dough sit at room temperature while preparing the remaining ingredients and heating the oven; otherwise, it will be difficult to stretch."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
â—¦ 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
â—¦ ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon dried oregano
â—¦ 1 small clove garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 pound pizza dough, room temperature
â—¦ 12 ounces sweet or hot Italian pork sausage, casings removed, divided
â—¦ 8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups), divided
â—¦ 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), divided


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Process tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, vinegar, oregano, and garlic in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to 2-cup liquid measuring cup and add reserved tomato juice until sauce measures 1 cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grease 12-inch ovensafe skillet with 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and gently shape each half into ball. Cover one dough ball with plastic wrap. Coat remaining dough ball lightly with flour and gently flatten into 8-inch disk using your fingertips. Using rolling pin, roll dough into 11-inch circle, dusting dough lightly with flour as needed. (If dough springs back during rolling, let rest for 10 minutes before rolling again.)

Transfer dough to prepared skillet; reshape as needed. Using back of spoon or ladle, spread ½ cup sauce in thin layer over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border around edge. Pinch 6 ounces sausage into approximate dime-size pieces and evenly distribute over sauce. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and ¼ cup Parmesan evenly over sausage.

Set skillet over medium-high heat and cook until outside edge of dough is set, pizza is lightly puffed, and bottom is spotty brown when gently lifted with spatula, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer pizza to oven and bake until crust is brown and cheese is golden in spots, 7 to 10 minutes.

Using pot holders, remove skillet from oven and slide pizza onto cutting board. Let pizza cool slightly before slicing and serving. Being careful of hot skillet handle, repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, dough, sauce, 1 cup mozzarella, and ¼ cup Parmesan.

Serves 4