Caramelized onions, cooked low and slow, put onto a cheesy pizza = one of our favorite things. Adding Broccoli Rabe makes you allowed to say this pizza is good for you because it is packed with antioxidants, calcium, and vitamin C. It’s known to help eye site, hair growth, and is a brain booster. So basically this is health food. and a pizza.
Caramelized Onion, Broccoli Rabe, Goat Cheese, and Sausage Pizza
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- olive oil
- unsalted butter
- 1 package of broccoli rabe, leaves and florets only
- 2 large hot Italian sausages (opt for sweet Italian sausages to cut down on heat), decased
- 1 small can (14.5 oz.) strained tomatoes (or tomato sauce, just find the most pureed form of canned tomatoes)
- 1 package of store bought pizza dough or purchase pizza dough from your local pizza place
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
- For garnish: chili flakes and basil
Tips
- You should use a pizza stone to make this pie if possible.
Let's go
- Preheat oven to 500° F or as hot as your oven can go. Now prepare all toppings for pizza (steps 2 – 6)
- In a small sauté pan, heat 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Thinly slice onions into half moons by cutting onion in half, turning on the flat edge, and then cutting in half again. Place flat edge on cutting board again and then thinly slice. Add into the hot pan, turn down to medium, low heat and, stirring occasionally to ensure they don’t burn, for 15 minutes, or until very soft and translucent and caramelized. Season with salt and set aside.
- Meanwhile, blanch the Broccoli Rabe. Fill a medium-sized pot with water and bring to a boil. Using your hands (the best kitchen tools available!), break off the bottom part of the stem. You only want the leaves and the broccoli bud. Put into the boiling water, cook for 4 minutes, stirring around until all the rabe is evenly cooked. Prepare a colander in the sink, under the faucet, to drain and blanch the leaves.
- After4 minutes or when the leaves look bright green, drain into colander and run cold water over the leaves. This will stop the cooking process. Drain out excess water and then roughly chop to make small pieces that can be spread across pizza.
- Prepare the sausage. In another medium-sized skillet, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil. Once hot, add in the decased sausage meat. Stir, allowing meat to brown. Cook for 10 minutes, breaking sausage into tiny pieces as it cooks and browns. Take off heat and drain over paper towels. Set aside.
- Put the can of strained tomatoes (these should be the most pureed and smooth version of canned tomatoes at the store), in a large bowl. Add in 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Stir and set aside.
- Now that you have all of your toppings ready, begin to assemble pizza. Steps 2-6 can be done ahead of time and reserved, covered on the side or in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve the pizzas.
- Prepare a wooden cutting board with flour on top and, using your hands, stretch the pizza dough on all sides so that it begins to thin in the middle and make a long rectangle shape. Place on board and continue to work dough out with your hands or a rolling pin.
- Roll dough out until its uniformly about ½-inch thick. Be sure not to make the center of the dough too thin. Place dough onto a covered baking sheet, making grandma-style.
- Cover dough with a thin layer of pizza sauce, about 3 tablespoons, evenly distributed with the back of the spoon.
- Evenly spread out the onions, sausage, broccoli rabe, and spread out goat cheese crumbles throughout.
- Place in very hot oven and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, watching to ensure pizza doesn’t burn. You want the crust to bubble up and brown.
- Take out, allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, and then cut with a pizza cutter or sharp large kitchen knife. Serve immediately.