Last night I gathered all my items from this weeks CSA bag and headed to my friends house. We decided to make a few pizzas to have with our bottle bottles of wine. The first pizza had more of a southern style, with okra, shallots, and fresh heirloom tomatoes. The other pizza was made with these AMAZING beet and pork sausages that Meghan got from The Meat Hook. The sausage was so good we decided to just add some onions and cheese and let it shine on its own. Both came out amazing! To save us time, I bought the dough from a local pizza shop in the neighborhood for a few bucks. Thanks Meghan and Daniel for having me over for the 700th time this year!

Ingredients:

Okra Pizza:
1 small pizza dough
Tomato sauce
6 large okra, chopped 1/4 inch thick
2-3 small heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallot
1 large garlic clove, chopped
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmesan cheese, for serving

Sausage Pizza:
1 large beet sausage (available here)
8 oz fresh ricotta
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
4-5 small fingerling potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh Parmesan cheese, for serving

Preheat the over to 425 degrees.

Start by rolling out the dough on a floured surface. I used one large ball of dough and split it in half, as I like my crust on the thinner side. Place on two lightly floured baking sheets and set aside.

To make the okra pizza, simply cover the bottom with about 1/4 cup tomato sauce, then layer with sliced mozzarella, fresh tomato, okra, garlic and shallots.

For the sausage pizza, start by cooking the onion and garlic together in a large pan until the onion is a bit translucent, then crumble in the sausage and cook thoroughly. Set mixture aside and cook the potatoes in the same pan until slightly golden on each side. Spread a good amount of ricotta cheese on the dough, followed by some fresh mozzarella. Top with the sausage mixture and sliced potatoes.

Cook both pizzas for about 15-20 minutes or until the dough begins to crisp and the top is bubbling (and your mouth is watering.) If you used a larger ball of dough for each, you may need to cook a few minutes longer. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper, then slice and serve with some grated Parmesan cheese on the side. Bon appétit!