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Sausage Rapini Skillet Pizza with Focaccia Crust

Sausage Rapini Skillet Pizza with Focaccia Crust

This Sausage Rapini Skillet Pizza features chunks of meaty sausage tempered with bitter rapini, briny olives, and dollops of lemon-scented ricotta. Served on a pillowy, focaccia-style crust, this pizza is a decadent restaurant-worthy meal.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Rising Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Large Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients
  

Focaccia-Style Pizza Dough

  • 1 ½ cups luke warm water
  • 1 tsp Active dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups all purpose flour

Quick Marinara Sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 can whole tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 6-8 sprigs fresh oregano bound with butcher's twine
  • 2 bay leaves

Sausage Rapini Skillet Pizza

  • 227g (8oz) rapini
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice divided
  • 2 Hot Italian sausages casings removed
  • ½ cup ricotta
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 batch Focaccia-Style Pizza Dough see below
  • ½ batch Quick Marinara Sauce see below
  • 200g (7oz) mozzarella shredded
  • ¼ cup sliced green olives
  • ¼ cup banana peppers

Instructions
 

For the Dough

  • Pour the yeast, olive oil, salt, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
    1 ½ cups luke warm water, 1 tsp Active dry yeast, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp salt
  • Add a cup and a half of the flour to the mixer and turn it on low. Mix the dough until the flour is well-integrated. Add another cup of the flour and again leave the dough to mix until the flour is well-integrated. From here, add additional flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough pulls away and cleans the sides of the bowl.
    3 cups all purpose flour
  • Transfer the dough to the counter and knead the dough by hand until smooth and silky. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
  • Stretch the dough to fit the circumference of the skillet, brush the surface with additional olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for an hour and a half or until doubled in size. While the dough is rising, make the Marinara sauce.

For the Sauce

  • Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Once shimmering, add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute the onion until just translucent. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant.
    2 tbsp olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic
  • Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook until half of the liquid has cooked off. Add the can of tomatoes, crushing each tomato in your hand before adding them to the skillet. Pour in any remaining liquid in the can.
    ½ cup dry white wine, 1 can whole tomatoes
  • Stir in the salt and sugar. Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the bay leaves and oregano and let cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 6-8 sprigs fresh oregano, 2 bay leaves
  • Taste the sauce and season with salt accordingly. Remove the sprigs and bay leaves. Transfer the sauce to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside to cool.

For the Pizza

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Remove the leaves from the rapini stalks and set aside. Cut the rapini stalks into 2-inch pieces and set aside.
    227g (8oz) rapini
  • Place the sausage in a skillet over medium heat and saute until cooked through. Transfer the sausage to a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
    2 Hot Italian sausages
  • Add the rapini stalks and oil to the skillet and a pinch of salt. Saute the stalks until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the leaves and saute until wilted. Stir in the chili flakes and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Taste and season with salt accordingly. Transfer the rapini to a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
    1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Form a ridge around the circumference of the risen dough using your fingertips. Cover the center of the dough with an even layer of marinara sauce. Save the rest of the sauce for pasta or future pizzas.
    1 batch Focaccia-Style Pizza Dough, ½ batch Quick Marinara Sauce
  • Place the ricotta, salt, and the remaining lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
    ½ cup ricotta, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Sprinkle the pizza with half of the mozzarella cheese. Cover the cheese with half of the sausage and half of the rapini. Repeat the order with the remaining cheese, sausage and rapini.
    200g (7oz) mozzarella
  • Spoon dollops of the ricotta onto the pizza and sprinkle with the banana pepper and olives.
    ¼ cup sliced green olives, ¼ cup banana peppers
  • Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating once. Let the pizza stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with additional crushed red pepper flakes if desired.
Keyword cheese, pizza, rapini, sausage, tomato sauce