Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until shimmering. Add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more. Remove half of the garlic and shallot mixture and set it aside.2 tbsp olive oil, 5 shallots, 8 cloves garlic
- Stir the tomato paste and crushed red pepper flakes into the shallot mixture and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour in the whole tomatoes and break them up roughly with the back of your spoon. Stir in the dried oregano and Calabrian chiles and add the parm rind and the sprig of basil. Bring the sauce up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes.1 tbsp tomato paste, 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes **, 1 (796ml, 27 fl oz) can whole tomatoes, 2 tbsp Calabrian chilis in oil , 1 tsp dried oregano , 1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind, 1 sprig fresh basil
- Turn off the heat and remove the sprig of basil and the parm rind. Pour the sauce into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside to cool. ****
For the Meatballs
- Place the lamb in a large bowl. Add the shallots and garlic you sauté and set aside earlier. Add an egg, bread crumbs, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt. Using clean hands, mix everything together.454g (1 lb) ground lamb, 1 large egg, ⅓ cup bread crumbs, ¼ cup fresh basil , 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp kosher salt
- Using a teaspoon as a guide, form the mixture into a series of mini meatballs. Chill until ready to cook.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet until shimmering. Working in batches, add the meatballs to the skillet and sauté until browned on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.2 tbsp olive oil
For the Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 500°F with a pizza stone inside. Dust a pizza peel with semolina flour.Semolina flour for sprinkling
- Take a piece of the pizza dough and stretch it into a pizza shape. Place it on the peel. Top the dough with the sauce, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, meatballs, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Slide the pizza off of the peel onto the stone in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.1 batch pizza dough ***, 1 batch Arrabbiata Sauce, 1 cup roasted red peppers , 250g (9oz) fresh mozzarella, 1 batch Mini Lamb Meatballs, 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
- Slide the pizza off of the stone using the peel and transfer it to a cutting board. Dust the peel with more semolina and build another pizza. Repeat until all the pizzas are cooked.
- Sprinkle the pizzas with fresh basil leaves and crushed red pepper flakes and serve immediately.Fresh basil leaves, crushed red pepper flakes
Notes
** I would call this sauce moderately spicy, so feel free to trim back the crushed red pepper flakes to suit your tastes.
*** Feel free to use store-bought pizza dough. I used the pizza dough recipe from the book The Bread Baker's Apprentice but feel free to use other pizza dough recipes available on this site.
**** You can make the sauce up to a week in advance. Store any leftover sauce in a resealable container in the fridge.