This Rustic Roasted Grape and Chicken Sausage Pizza is a sweet and salty fusion of flavor that's a favorite combo of mine in the fall and winter.
PIZZA. Is it ever not a good time to have pizza? I could eat the stuff every. single. day. I crave it just as much as ice cream. For someone that loves pizza so much, I'm kind of a pizza snob. This snobbery began for me at the tender and ripe age of thirteen. This was the age I decided I did not like and could not tolerate the slightest smearing of sauce on my pizza. What??? It's true. I forced my parents to start ordering a pizza with no sauce just for me. And as fate would have it for me as the eldest, my four younger siblings started following suit.
The poor people at the Domino's down the street must have hated us for a while - countless weekends went by where we would place a delivery order for pizza with no sauce, only to have our order arrive with sauce. A complimentary no sauce pizza was then "rushed" to our doorstep thirty minutes after the first delivery. And that's how things went for a while. Before long, our church youth group, family friends, and school groups started ordering the Hight kids' no sauce pizza and our pickiness was further enabled and accommodated. Bless their hearts! If it were me serving them, I'd have probably just told them to get over and scrape the sauce off with a knife.
Thankfully, the days of no sauce pizza are over for the Hight kids. I don't know if it's because we grew out of it or because we started ordering pizza from places with better-tasting sauce. You have to admit, the big pizza chains totally get it wrong when it comes to pizza sauce. The thick, red gloopy stuff that's slathered on American-style pizza is way too salty, sugary, and in my opinion, tastes nothing like a tomato.
Good pizza sauce should err on the side of minimalism, using the best quality canned tomatoes, fresh herbs, and the slightest flavor enhancement of salt, freshly cracked pepper, and a fruity olive oil. Ever since our trip to Italy, I've been buying canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushing them with my hands, and seasoning it lightly for our pizza sauce. It really does make all the difference - this type of tomato is less acidic than the tomatoes used to make canned pizza sauce.
In the fall and winter, my favorite pizza topping combo is grapes and chicken sausage with a sprinkling of winter greens, just for added color. The grapes break down and caramelize as the pizza bakes, creating a candy-like texture that goes perfectly with salty, crispy bits of sausage. We love to enjoy this by the fire on the weekends; and I have to say, it's much preferred over a night eating out somewhere!
Did you make this sausage and roasted grape pizza? If so, I'd love to hear how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below or tag a photo of your creation on Instagram or Twitter with @sweetcayenne5 - it's always great to connect with you!
Recipe
Rustic Roasted Grape and Chicken Sausage Pizza
Ingredients
For the dough {makes 2 dough balls per recipe for a 12'' pizza, or 3 small 8'' pizzas}:
- 1 cup of warm water between 95-115 degrees F
- 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar or honey
- 1 package {or 2 ¼ teaspoons} active dry yeast
- 2-3 cups '00'/farina flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
For the sauce:
- 1 {14.5 ounce} can of whole peeled, San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoone extra virgin olive oil
Toppings:
- 6 ounces Fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
- 4 ounces spinach feta chicken sausage browned and cooked
- ½ cup red and green grapes halved
- ¾ cup baby spinach or arugula leaves
- Fresh basil leaves
- Balsamic syrup optional
Instructions
- Place your pizza stone{s} in a cool oven and set the temperature to 450. Let your stone heat for 1 hour before baking a pizza.
- In a large bowl, combine the water, sugar or honey, and the yeast. Stir gently and let the mixture sit on the countertop for about 10 minutes. It should smell fragrant and look foamy on top if the yeast has been activated.
- Add 2 cups of the flour, the olive oil and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine until a loose, wet dough forms. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead about another ½-1 cup of flour into the wet dough with your hands until a smooth, elastic dough ball forms. This should take 2-4 minutes to achieve.
- Place your dough ball in a greased bowl and cover the top with a towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm, dry area to rise for 90 minutes or until double in size. I like to place my dough in a warm dryer that's been running for about 10 minutes prior to putting the dough inside.
- While your dough rises, make the sauce and complete any necessary prep work for your toppings.
- Pour the can of tomatoes into a small bowl. Using your clean fingers, break up the whole tomatoes into small chunks. Stir in the salt, pepper, olive oil, oregano, and fresh basil. Refrigerate until you are ready to top the pizzas.
- When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down dump it onto your floured work space. Divide the dough in half and gently knead each half into a smooth ball. Place a damp towel or paper towel over your dough balls until you are ready to roll them out. Do not wait more than 15 minutes or so to roll them out, as they will start to rise again.
- Using a floured rolling pin, carefully roll out your dough to for a 12'' circle. You can vary the thickness according to your preference {I like about ¼'' thick}. Transfer the rolled dough to a sheet of parchment paper big enough to fit it on with about 3 inches of extra paper on each side.
- Spread a thin layer of sauce onto your dough, leaving about a ½'' border on the sides. Be careful not to add too heavy a layer of sauce, as this can prevent your bottom crust from getting crispy.Top with fresh mozzarella, sausage grape halves, and baby arugula leaves.
- Using the overhang of parchment paper, transfer your pizza to the back of a baking sheet. Open the oven, place the baking sheet near the pizza stone, and carefully slide your pizza onto the stone. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove your pizza from the oven by using the parchment paper handles to transfer the pizza back onto a baking sheet {this way your stone can stay hot for baking more pizzas}. Slice the pizza, top with freshly torn basil leaves and a drizzle of balsamic syrup. Enjoy right away!
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