PEACHY PALOOZA SAUSAGE, GOAT CHEESE, AND WALNUT PIZZA WITH PICKLED ONIONS AND ARUGULA

Pizza|Italian|Pork

Ingredients

The Pickled Onions:

1 cup cider vinegar

¾ cup water

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

The Sausage and Fennel:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage

1 small onion, chopped

1 ½ cups fennel bulb, chopped

The Dough:

1 pound pizza dough, store-bought or homemade (recipe below)

3 tablespoons olive oil

The Toppings:

4 ounces goat cheese, softened to room temperature

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and cut into 1” thick wedges

½ cup walnuts, rough chopped

¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons hot honey

1 cup arugula leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a pan and bring to a boil. Stir dissolve sugar. Pour this liquid into a large jar and add onions. Shake so that everything is covered. Let sit for 30 minutes or longer if possible. Any leftover onions will last in the fridge for 2 weeks.

To make the sausage and fennel topping, heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook for 3 minutes, breaking it up with a spatula into small pieces. Add the onion and fennel to the pan and continue cooking, stirring frequently and continuing to break up the sausage, for 6-8 minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the fennel is tender. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a pizza stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes OR line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust your countertop and form the dough into a 14” disk. If the dough is very springy, let it rest for another 5 minutes and then continue to form and stretch it into a large round. If you are using a pizza stone, dust the peel with cornmeal and place the dough on it. If you are using a baking sheet, place the dough on the parchment.

Combine the goat cheese and the cream in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, spread the goat cheese and cream mixture in an even layer all over the dough, leaving about ½” exposed around the edge for the crust.

Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the top of the goat cheese and then place the peaches in between the crumbled sausage. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top followed by the shredded mozzarella cheese. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil all around the exposed edges of crust.

Slide the pizza onto the stone (or place the sheet pan in oven). Bake for 14-15 minutes until the pizza is golden brown and bubbly.

Top the pizza with about ½ cup of the pickled onions and drizzle the hot honey all over the top. Toss the arugula with the lemon juice and place the salad on top of the pizza in the center. Season all over with the salt.

Cut into slices, taking care to get some of the salad on every slice. DEVOUR!!

PIZZA DOUGH

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 2 teaspoons to oil the bowl)

1 tablespoon honey

1 ½ cups warm water (115-120 degrees)

1 packet yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 ½ – 4 ½ cups flour

Place olive oil, honey, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to dissolve honey into the water (so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the bowl). Sprinkle the yeast on top of the liquid mixture, stir, and let sit for 5-10 minutes until yeast becomes foamy. Add salt and 2 ½ cups of the flour. Mix using the dough hook attachment. Gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed until a ball forms and pulls away from the bowl. Empty dough onto a floured countertop and knead for 8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic adding flour as needed if sticky.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in bulk. Knead dough briefly and divide into 2 equal parts and form balls. Let rest for 30 minutes under a clean kitchen towel. If you are not using both balls, refrigerate each ball in a plastic bag sprayed with cooking spray for up to 5 days.