Sausage and Ricotta Pizza

Start by preheating your oven to 475ºF. If you have a pizza stone, place this in the oven while it is preheating.

Take some flour and sprinkle it onto a clean countertop. Take the pizza dough and begin working it into your desired thickness and shape. When the oven is preheated, place the rolled out pizza dough onto the pizza stone. Brush olive oil onto the dough, and place into the oven for about 7 minutes. The dough will begin to bubble, and that is fine. I use a fork and just punch the air pocket.

After 7 minutes, slide the pizza stone onto the top of your stove, or a cutting board, and begin working with the rest of the ingredients.

Sprinkle salt and pepper onto the top of the pizza. Next, begin spooning on ricotta cheese on top of the dough and spread it out. Sprinkle with the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese, then finish by topping with the Italian sausage. I like the sausage on top because it caramelizes and gets a bit crispy.

Place this back inside the oven and cook until the cheese and nice, bubbly and somewhat golden, about 13 minutes.

Slide the pizza onto your pizza tray, wait a few minutes, then slice into triangles or squares.

Grab your slice right away, because as soon as you bite into this pizza you will be blown away by the textures. A great garlic crust lends itself nicely into the creaminess of the ricotta cheese, the pull of the mozzarella cheese, and the wonderful fennel flavor of the Italian sausage. I turned my back for about 10 minutes, and when I walked back inside the house, the pizza was eaten. Every bit of it. That’s saying something. So next time you are making homemade pizza, give this sausage and ricotta cheese pizza a try! Enjoy.