Guest post by Ashley Rodriguez, Not Without Salt
A sauceless pizza is nothing to scoff at. Something akin to magic happens in the oven as olive oil, garlic and mozzarella mingle to create its own creamy cohesive sauce. Not to mention the drippings of fennel-laced sausage and the fresh, thinly shaved sausage itself. If you can handle the heat this pizza does well with a hearty pinch of pepper flakes or a few scattered pickled peppers on top. The smoke flavor that permeates the dough makes this pizza unforgettable.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
- 8 ounce pizza dough
- Olive oil
- 6 ounces Italian sausage
- 1/2 fennel bulb thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 ounces fresh mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
- Flake salt
Method
Fill the base of the cast iron wok with very hot coals. Add the baking sheet and replace the lid. Allow this to preheat for at least 10 minutes.
While the oven heats up precook the sausage in a hot cast iron skillet, just until crisp on the outside. Break up into roughly 1 inch pieces.
Stretch the dough very thin then carefully place on the hot baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil then add the lid and let bake for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes remove the lid and carefully flip the dough. Add the garlic, mozzarella, fennel, dill and a hearty pinch of flake salt.
Replace the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the dough is cooked through.
Carefully slice and serve while warm.
All photos courtesy of Ashley Rodriguez.
