Hello and welcome to Pizza and a Movie. Can you believe we are one week away from Christmas Eve?! Today we are back out at the Mugnaini Oven for a wood fired pizza. Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza. It’s a rich pie, for sure. The ricotta tones everything down a bit with its mellow creaminess. And while the sausage has a spicy kick, the caramelized onions are lightly sweet and deliciously savory. Let’s get right to the recipe!
The Prep
For the caramelized onions, peel and halve two red onions; thinly slice them and sauté over low heat with a little olive oil and pinch of Kosher salt for about two hours. Go about your morning and give them a stir every 20 minutes or so. Transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them.
You can brown the sausage way ahead of time too. Brown one pound of Hot Italian sausage over medium heat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. When it’s cooled a bit, transfer to a container and cover in the fridge until you’re ready to use.
About 45-50 minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat your home oven to 450 degrees. Let the oven and the pizza steel or stone preheat for about 1 hour before putting the pizza in the oven.
Building the Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza
The base for this pizza is just mozzarella. So we will start there. Roll, stretch or pull your dough to a roughly 12-inch round. Evenly spread about a cup of shredded mozzarella on the dough. If you are using a block of low moisture mozz, like I am, instead of grating it, like to just pull it apart like string cheese. The pieces are uneven, but I like the variation. When placing your cheese on, do consider this: the cheese will melt inward, not much outward. So be sure to get the cheese all the way to the crust edge and go lighter on the cheese in the center.
Low-moisture mozzarella base.
Next, we will add the browned spicy sausage. Top the sausage with the caramelized onions. Finally, dot the top with dollops of ricotta cheese.
Second, add the sausage. Then the caramelized onions. 
Top with dollops of ricotta.
We are ready for the oven!
Ready to bake!
Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes in your home oven. Or until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly. I have the temperature of the Mugnaini running at about 750 degrees. The cooking surface, or deck varies in temperature from about 680 to 720 degrees. I will place the pizza in a spot that is right at 720 degrees. It will take about 90 seconds to cook the pizza and I will give it a few turns during the bake for an even cook.
When the pizza comes out of the oven, top with crushed red pepper if you like. Slice and serve!
Movie Night: The Last Duel
We have our Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza ready, so let’s get to the movie! I am a big sucker for period dramas. Especially those set in the medieval period or the Age of Enlightenment. The Last Duel is of the former era; set in 14th century France. One of its stars is Adam Driver, which doesn’t seem weird for a movie set in medieval times. But Matt Damon and Ben Affleck showing up in a medieval film seemed a bit odd. But the duo co-wrote the screenplay, so…
The costumes, sets and design of this film are gorgeous, and it is beautifully shot. The movie is based on a true story and is separated into three acts; each act is told from the perspective of one of the three main characters: Jean de Carrouges (Damon); Jacques Le Gris (Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). I really like the storytelling device of shared experiences and events told from different perspectives, so I found this film interesting and entertaining for that – but also for the fact that this story is true. The events, characters and duel are well documented in historical texts and medieval illuminated manuscripts, which gives anyone interested in the time period, and history in general, a wonderful view into life at this point in time. The Last Duel is available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Thank you all so much for joining me today for Pizza and a Movie! I hope you try this Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza; it’s really hard to beat a combination of spicy sausage and sweet, savory caramelized onions. It’s a rich, yet well-balanced pizza with the mellow, fresh flavor of the ricotta. I started this series on December 11, 2020 and it’s been a great year of Pizza and a Movie; if you’re new to Djalali Cooks or want to revisit any pizza recipes or movie recommendations, check out Pizza and a Movie. Take care and be well everyone! xo Kelly
Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza
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Loading...The sausage has a spicy kick, the caramelized onions are lightly sweet, deliciously savory while the ricotta adds a fresh, mellow richness.
Ingredients
- 2 Red Onions, peeled, halved and sliced thinly
- Drizzle of Olive oIl
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 1 lb. Ground Spicy Italian Sausage
- 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
- 1 cup Shredded Low Moisture Mozzarella
- 1/4-1/3 cup of Ricotta Cheese
Instructions
For the Caramelized Onions
Peel and halve two red onions; thinly slice them and sauté over low heat with a little olive oil and pinch of Kosher salt for about two hours. Go about your morning and give them a stir every 20 minutes or so. Transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate until you're ready to use them.
Spicy Italian Sausage
Brown one pound of Hot Italian sausage over medium heat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. When it's cooled a bit, transfer to a container and cover in the fridge until you're ready to use.
Caramelized Onion with Sausage Pizza
About 45-50 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat your home oven to 450 degrees. Let the oven and the pizza steel or stone preheat for about 1 hour before putting the pizza in the oven.
Roll, stretch or pull your dough to a roughly 12-inch round. Evenly spread about a cup of shredded mozzarella on the dough.
Next, add the browned spicy sausage. Top the sausage with the caramelized onions. Finally, dot the top with dollops of ricotta cheese.
Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes in your home oven. Or until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Sally Burke
December 17, 2021 at 7:08 pmHi Kelly, you are so clever with making your own pizza dough, I’ve probably said that before, and I like the sound of this weeks combination. Must be time for us to have a pizza night, normally it happens on the weekend, but we are eating out tonight and leftovers tomorrow, I didn’t want to have to prepare anything as I will be making several batches of yo-yo’s tomorrow to add as part of our gifts to our children and grandchildren. Thankfully the weather will be a bit cooler, it is over 30c again today, definitely not a day to be cooking.
Cheers for now, happy cooking ??
Sally ?
Kelly Djalali
December 18, 2021 at 8:23 amHi Sally, When we cook out at the wood oven I make a really simple three-hour pizza dough by Andrea Mugnaiani. It works great for the super high heat of the wood fire. But I am also a big fan of Trader Joe’s store bought dough. How fun to gift yo-yo’s to your family for Christmas! Have a wonderful weekend, xo Kelly
Susan
December 17, 2021 at 8:13 pmI have tried many times to caramelize onions, with no luck. Don’t they crisp up even on low heat for 2 hours? Maybe I am using the wrong type of onion? Just have not had success. Any thoughts?
Kelly Djalali
December 18, 2021 at 8:37 amHi Susan, I have had them get crispy sometimes too. A trick might be to use at least two large onions. I notice that when there is a higher volume of onions, they release enough moisture to keep them from getting crispy. If I use fewer than two onions, I can only let them cook on low for 45 minutes or so. Another trick is to give them a little Kosher salt part way through to get them to release more moisture. I have made them with red onions and yellow onions with success, but I have read that using sweet yellow onions works the best because they have higher sugar content that helps them caramelize better. You can also add a little water, more olive oil or white wine if the the pan gets too dry and that should help keep them from crisping. And finally, I haven’t tried this myself, but I have seen recipes for caramelized onions cooked in a slow cooker – that seems like a good option, especially if you have an electric stovetop that might not have a very low briner setting. I hope some or all of these tricks help, let me know if you try it again and how it works out for you. Have a beautiful weekend! xo Kelly