When I was a kid, my mom would drive to the corner Italian restaurant to pick up a pizza that was assembled, but not yet baked. She’d get home and place the pizza in the oven. She’d call us to the table and we ate hot, right-out-of-the-oven pizza, burning our mouths on the cheese. I guess some things just leave an indelible mark! For this reason, I’m not a fan of pizza delivery. No matter what they do to improve the box, the pizza still tastes like cardboard to me.
For this reason, I like to make pizza at home. Pre-made pizza crust has improved dramatically from that cylindrical can of dough. Now you can purchase hand-rolled, fresh dough in the deli department of the grocery store. Pizza sauces have evolved as well. You can find sauces made with organic ingredients, little to no sugar in the recipe.
Add to this, the fact that you can purchase pancetta already diced and pepperoni already sliced, and making pizza at home is a no brainer. Here’s a recipe for my family’s favorite pizza. It goes without saying, that you can add any toppings you and your gang like! Just make sure no one burns their mouth on the cheese!
Hubby’s favorite pizza is loaded with meat, meat and more meat. I prefer pizza at home with a ton of veggies. My PPP Pizza merges the two. We combine pepperoni, pancetta and bell pepper with diced mushrooms and lots of Mozzarella cheese. It’s the perfect weeknight meal for two. Just add a veggie salad and a glass of wine!
PPP Pizza
With a couple of M’s
Serves 2 to 4
30 Minute Cuisine
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 prepared roll pizza dough
1 (12-ounce) jar prepared pizza sauce
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 pint baby Portobello mushrooms, stemmed and diced, about 2 cups
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
4 ounces sliced pepperoni
1 large bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
½ small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Preheat the oven on it’s highest setting. Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil into a large baking sheet with rim. Press out the pizza dough into the baking sheet. Pour the pizza sauce over the dough.
Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden and crisping, about 3 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate. Keep the oil in the pan to cook the mushrooms.
Place the mushrooms into the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Lay the pepperoni slices onto the pizza. Continue adding the bell pepper slices, pancetta, mushrooms and onion. Sprinkle the cheese over everything. Place the pizza into the oven and cook until the crust is golden, the cheese has melted, and the veggies are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cut the pizza into 8 pieces. Sprinkle with fresh basil and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.
