Italian Sausage Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Kale and Jalapeños

• Meat

  • 1 lb Sweet italian sausage

• Produce

  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 lb Kale, leaves
  • 1 Onion, large

• Condiments

  • 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup Pizza sauce

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 lb Pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
  • 1 Salt and pepper

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1 Olive oil

• Dairy

  • 2 cups Mozzarella

• Other

  • ½ cup Mezzetta tamed (or hot Fire Rosted Jalapeños with Chipotle peppers

Found on oliviascuisine.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough
• 1 pound sweet italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 cup pizza sauce (see notes)
• 1 pound roughly chopped trimmed kale leaves, washed and dried
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
• ½ cup Mezzetta tamed (or hot) Fire Rosted Jalapeños with Chipotle peppers
• Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and pre heat the oven to its maximum setting (mine goes to 550F). (The oven should preheat for at least 30 minutes before cooking the pizzas.)
• Divide the pizza dough into two equal bowls and place them on a heavily floured surface. Cover with a dampened cloth and let them rest and rise for 30 minutes.
• Place a large skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and add the sausage. Cook, breaking the sausage into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked through (5 to 7 minutes). Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve.
• On that same skillet, add some more olive oil (if necessary) and when the oil is just starting to shimmer, add the onions and cook until they are tender and golden. Add the balsamic vinegar and keep cooking until the onions have caramelized, about 15 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Reserve.
• Once the pizza stone is preheated and the toppings prepared, you can start rolling out your dough. Dust the work surface with flour and flatten one dough ball to a thickness of ½ inch. Then roll the dough to a diameter of about 12 inches, keeping the remaining dough covered. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined pizza peel (or rimmed baking sheet) .
• Brush some olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Add ½ cup pizza sauce and 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is beginning to brown and puff, about 6 minutes.
• While the pizza-base is baking, toss the kale with a teaspoon of olive oil and the lemon juice. Reserve.
• When the pizza-base is ready, remove from the oven and, working quickly, add a layer of kale, half of the sausage, half of the caramelized onions and half of the jalapeños.
• Bake for another 2 minutes or until the kale looks perfectly charred and the crust is cooked to your satisfaction. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese if youd like.
• Repeat the steps above with the 2nd pizza.