Another one to try from the Pizza Bible by Toni Gemignani.
I’ve been eyeing this one for a while now. A sausage pizza that is. It’s a topping that seems like such a classic when described through an American lens, and yet I’ve never tried one.
And I also don’t see what the big deal is!
Italian immigrants to New York pile raw meat on some cheese and tomato and BOOM! Instant classic! That must have been how it went down. Either way, I’ve been feeling left out of this cultural phenomenon for far too long, so I’m diving deep today. I’m going full Cultural Appropriator and trying my hand at making a sausage topped pizza.
Then maybe, I’ll get what all the fuss is about…
Of course, I couldn’t resist having a peek into the Flavour Thesaurus for some pairing inspiration. Hence I came out with apricots and sausage, with my successful past pairing of apricot jam and Pama Ham giving the thumbs up. However, this time, I’d be bold and abandon the jammy safety net, embracing raw, dried apricots instead
Still with me?
Good, because here is, for you, the fennel sausage, and apricot pizza…
Recipe
Toast fennel seeds over a medium heat for a few minutes before finely grinding them with pestle and mortar.
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds ffenigl
Work the fennel into the sausage meat and fry it up with the seasoning below, again over a medium heat( 3-4 munud)
You’ll want to cook the sausage to where it loses it’s redness but hasn’t started to brown excessively yet, you’ll want to leave that to the oven later. If you’re feeling brave, you can let the fennel infused meat rest in the fridge overnight, before placing it straight onto the pizza and cooking it from raw. This is apparently the superior method but I haven’t quite got the cojones to try it at the restaurant yet!
- 500g unseasoned porc sausage meat
- 1 tsp ground, toasted fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp of honey
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional for some extra heat)
With the meat cooked, spread tomato sauce evenly over an opened pizza base.
- Crushed tin tomatos (seasoned with a bit of salt)
Spread mozzarella, sausage meat and a small handful of apricots over the base.
Edit: You can also place more sauce over the toppings. I found that the pizza benefited from more sauce on top due to it’s sweetness complimenting the sausage (like ketchup on a sausage bap) and also sauce over the apricots prevents them from burning (they tend to singe around the edges due to their high sugar content).
- dry mozzarella (grated or sliced)
- fennel sausage meat
- dry apricots (sliced or shredded by hand
Finish with a sprinkling of sage and bake on highest setting until crust is browning and topping are nicely browned (about 8-10 mins at 240°C)
- pinch dry sage OR chopped fresh sage
More to Read
For more pizza inspiration, check out the rest of our Pizza of the Week archive, where I’ll be posting new pizzas from the restaurant every week.
