Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, Sausage and Goat Cheese Pizza

For the sauce:

Pour olive oil into a hot saute pan. Add onion, and a pinch of salt and cook for several minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute then give the tomatoes a little smash with the back of your spatula to release some juices. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tomatoes are soft and starting to break down. I like to smash them a bit with my potato masher to make them less chunky. A quick tip: If your sauce tastes too acidic, add a dab of butter or a pinch of sugar… both methods cut down acidity.

Prepare the toppings:

1. Caramelize the onions: Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt (and a small amount of sugar is optional). Cook for another 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until onions are golden brown.
2. Saute the mushrooms: In a saute pan, over high heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Add the mushrooms and a bit of salt and cook until sauteed and golden.
3. Brown the sausage.
4. Chiffonade the basil.

For the assembly:
1. Pre-bake your pizza crust in a 500 degree oven for 2 minutes on a pizza stone or 3 minutes on a pan.
2. Top with sauce.
3. Pinch small pieces of cheese evenly over pizza.
4. Add onions, sausage, mushrooms, basil and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8 – 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

And just in case you need it, here’s the recipe for the dough I use. Note: this recipe is enough dough for three 14-inch pizzas or 4 thin 12-inch rounds (and the above recipe only calls for 1 crust – so if you are going to make all three of the crusts that my recipe makes, you’ll need to triple the ingredients of your sauce and toppings).

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugar and salt and the warm 1 ½ cups of water. Add yeast and allow yeast to activate about 10 minutes. Add flour, olive oil and up to 4 tablespoons of additional warm water if needed and knead dough until well mixed. After allowing dough to rise, form into pizza rounds, and rub tops with olive oil. Prebake pizza dough about 2 minutes at 500° F on a pizza stone or about 3 minutes on a pizza pan. Top with sauce, cheese and favorite topping ingredients. Cook pizza in the oven until cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden on the edges between 8- 12 minutes.

****The dough for pizzas is best when dough is prepared the day (or several days) ahead. Place dough in a large bowl, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature about three hours before using.