Cast Iron Pizza
Rolling out pizza dough
Pizza prepped and ready for oven
Hot pizza right out of oven
Ingredients:
12 oz. store-bought pizza dough, room temperature
5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 oz. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
Roasted tomatoes, recipe follows
¾ cup coarsely grated low-moisture mozzarella
3 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
Crushed red pepper flakes and torn basil leaves, for serving
Directions:
Preheat Your Cast-Iron Skillet in the Oven
Crank your oven to 500° F and place your cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat—You want your skillet to be hot, but not scorching, about 10 minutes. The size of your cast-iron pan doesn't matter, but keep in mind that the smaller the pan, the thicker your pizza crust will be—go for an 8 or 9" skillet if you want a thicker crust, and a 12" or larger for a thinner crust.
Place a rack in top-most position of oven; Place dough on a work surface; Stretch out to a 10" round .
Take your skillet out of the preheated oven Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium. Cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned in spots and cooked though, 5–8 minutes. Transfer sausage to a small bowl.
Remove skillet from heat and carefully lay dough inside (use spoon to help you extend dough all the way to the edges). Season with salt, then spread roasted tomatoes over entire surface of dough. Top with mozzarella, garlic, and cooked sausage. Drizzle with another 2 Tbsp. oil. Peek underneath the crust—the bottom should be golden brown and crisp from residual heat in the skillet. If it’s not, set over medium-low and cook until crust is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake pizza on top rack until crust is golden brown around the edges and cheese is browned in spots and bubbling all over, 10–14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then top with red pepper flakes and basil. Sprinkle with more salt and drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.
Quick Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1-8 oz. packaged cherry tomatoes
½ cup basil leaves, packed
2 rosemary sprigs
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp salt
Black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake for 20-30 mins or until tomatoes burst and sauce is thick and syrupy.