Sausage Meatball Pizza with Mozzarella and Caramelized Onions

Cooking Steps

1. 

   Prepare ingredients

   Preheat oven to 500°F. Remove pizza dough from bag and let soften at room temperature—we recommend at least 10 minutes. Rinse arugula and pat dry with paper towel. Rinse parsley and finely chop leaves, discarding stems. Halve lemon. Peel onions, halve, and thinly slice. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, combine juice of ½ lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Set dressing aside.

2. 

   Caramelize onions

   Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until light brown and softened, 7-8 minutes. Add ¼ cup water and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring continuously, until onions are golden and water has mostly evaporated, 3 minutes more (they'll be a little moist to act as a sauce for the pizza). Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper and remove pan from heat.

3. 

   Form and par-cook meatballs

   While onions cook, in a separate large bowl, combine red wine, half of Parmesan, and half of parsley, then add sausage. Using your hands, mix well, then form into 10 equal balls, about 1 inch thick. Arrange on prepared sheet, spacing apart. Bake until slightly browned and almost cooked through, 6-7 minutes. Transfer half of meatballs to a cutting board and slice in half. Save remaining meatballs for another use.

4. 

   Prepare dough

   While meatballs bake, sprinkle flour onto a clean, dry surface, coating a rolling pin or your hands with a thin layer. Roll or stretch dough into a rectangle, rotating frequently and working from center to edges, until ¼-inch thick (try lifting dough with your hands, letting gravity help stretch it down). Once meatballs are par-cooked, remove and discard foil from baking sheet and line with new foil.

5. 

   Assemble and bake pizza

   Thoroughly rub foil with 1 teaspoon olive oil, then add dough, gently stretching to reach edges of sheet. Rub 1 teaspoon olive oil on top of dough. Spread over caramelized onions in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with mozzarella and halved meatballs. Sprinkle 1½ tablespoons Parmesan over border of pizza. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, 10-12 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly, 5 minutes.

6. 

   Make salad and plate pizza

   While pizza cools, add arugula to bowl with dressing and toss to combine. Divide salad between serving plates. Once cooled slightly, cut sausage meatball pizza into slices and add to plates with salad. Garnish everything with remaining parsley and remaining Parmesan. Dig in! Save remaining lemon to brighten a glass of water.