Homemade pizza with a crispy base in a frying pan

Ingredients:

Pizza

• 450 g of store-bought pizza dough or pizza dough according to the recipe below
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp oregano
• A few basil leaves (teared) + extra for serving
• A pinch of sugar and salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, for greasing the pizza, plus a little more for frying
• 220 g raw spicy Italian sausages
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 0.5 tbsp wheat flour
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. grated mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tbsp. acacia honey
• 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste or red pepper flakes
• Basil leaves

Fennel and Olive Salad

• 1 small fennel root, set aside a handful of greens
• Half a small red onion
• Half a lemon
• Half an orange
• 0.5 cups black olives in oil
• 2-3 tbsp capers
• 4 cups arugula or small kale

Crispy pizza base

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil + extra for greasing the bowl
• 1 tbsp. acacia honey
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3 cups premium flour

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 270°C-280°C, as hot as possible, with the rack on the middle shelf. Heat a 25-30 cm cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Heat a second, smaller skillet for frying the sausage.
2. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over a smaller skillet. Remove the sausage casings, add them to the skillet, lightly brown, and crumble. Turn off the heat.
   
   In a food processor, puree the sauce.: tomatoes, sun-dried tomato paste, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt and a few basil leaves.
3. Sprinkle some cornmeal and wheat flour into a large (preheated) skillet. Stretch the dough into an even circle the size of the skillet. Press the dough into the sides as tightly as possible. Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper or red pepper flakes. Brush the dough with tomato sauce and top with the fried sausage, sprinkle with grated cheeses, and bake in the oven.
4. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, until the crust is richly golden and bubbly. Add a little water, honey, and chili paste to the pan where the sausage was cooked and stir (reheat the pan if it's not hot enough to dissolve the honey). Drizzle or brush the pizza with the honey mixture and sprinkle basil leaves on top.
5. Prepare the fennel and olive salad before serving.Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, thinly slice the fennel root and red onion and place in a bowl. Add the orange and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pit the olives and coarsely chop; add to the bowl. Stir in the capers and arugula or small kale. When ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil (2 slow turns of the bowl), toss, and serve with the pizza.

6. Crispy pizza base

   
   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the warm water and yeast and let the yeast dissolve and foam, 5 minutes.
   
   Add olive oil, honey, and salt and turn on the mixer. Gradually add flour to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a bowl drizzled with a little olive oil and cover; let rest for 1 hour.
   
   

   Freezing

   
   Cut the dough in half, wrap half of the dough in plastic wrap and freeze for another use.