hot honey pomodoro pizza
First order of business post-vacation: make pizza.
I purged my fridge on Saturday morning and ended up with practically-empty shelves. Quite refreshing after months of fuck-knows-what stacked and shoved in the very back throes of the thing, but after a trip it’s also quite startling to see that there’s fucking nothing to eat.
Well, no more. There’s now pizza, and my heart is therefore satiated.
Last year at some point I attempted a pomodoro sauce for a pizza – it might have actually been around this time, come to think of it – but at the time I was pretty inept at photographing pizzas and thus dissatisfied with the result. The urge came back around this year, in particular because I bought two packages of veggie pepperoni from Trader Joe’s and had to try it out.
Pizza was the most logical culinary guinea pig, right?
Speaking of guinea pig…I MISS SQUIBBLES.
Hot Honey Pomodoro Pizza contains a surprising combination, but I swear to your it’s majesty in your mouth. An easy to prep meal, done in around 30 minutes depending on how fast you chop: it’s say under 45 minutes just to be safe. Two cheeses, the simplest homemade tomato basil sauce, and a few hefty drizzles of hot honey to finish off each slice.
Speaking of finishing off – ya’ll will devour this pizza in no time. Call it record time. Call it whatever the hell you want, I don’t care.
Pom Pom-odoro
Pomodoro sauce is one of the least elaborate Italian-style sauces you can make. Usually served over pasta, this savory delight also works great as a pizza sauce. This recipe makes extra, too, so you can enjoy it over your favorite noods at another date.
One little note before we begin. Preheat your oven now to 500 degrees. The longer it preheats, the hotter the oven, the crisper the pizza crust.
Warm lots of olive oil in a saucepan, then stir in minced garlic and shallots, a good amount of these, too. Pour in a can of crushed tomatoes and a touch of honey (the honey cuts through the tomatoes’ acidity), and bring to a gentle simmer. Let the stuff marry for at least 10 minutes, but feel free to go longer if you have the time. 30 minutes is a good goal.
Pull the pan off the heat and stir in some fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper until to your liking.
Practical Pie
Pizza assembly is a flash. Let me show you how.
…Grab a pound of pizza dough, split it in half. Working with one half at a time, push and press into a roughly 10 inch circle and slap onto a baking sheet pre-sprinkled with parchment paper. Or, form the dough right on the baking sheet.
…Brush the dough circle with a little olive oil and poke all over with a fork. Parbake for 5 minutes until lightly golden.
…Spread some pomodoro sauce over the crust, then sprinkle with mozzarella and fontina cheeses. Finish with several slices of vegetarian or regular pepperoni. Either works, just use whatever is best for your dietary preference.
…Bake 8-10 minutes until crisp and gooey.
…Repeat the assembly and baking with your second blob of dough.
Hot Stuff
While your pizza bakes, whip up the hot honey. It’s quick to do in the microwave and adds so much goodness to your finished pie.
Grab a microwave-safe vessel. Stir together honey, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powders, and red pepper flakes. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, then heat 20-30 seconds more until thinned and well combined.
Drizzle that shit over each slice of pizza – generously, might I suggest – and enjoy to your heart’s content.
The hot honey keeps well in the fridge for about 2 weeks, and the pomodoro sauce for about a week. Pizza slices last up to 5 days, and I recommend reheating them in a 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes. Microwave is fine, but it’ll lose it’s crisp.
I’d say pizza is a good welcome-home gift, to someone else or yourself, no?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
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hot honey pomodoro pizza
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 shallots, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 lb pizza dough, homemade or storebought
- 1 1/2 cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cups fontina cheese, shredded
- 4 oz vegetarian or regular pepperoni
- hot honey, for drizzling (recipe below)
hot honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Frank's)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly sprinkle corn meal over a large baking sheet.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Saute the shallots and garlic until frangrant, about 1-2 minutes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and honey and bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes until thickened (you may let it go for longer if you wish!). Remove from heat, stir in the basil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide the pizza dough in half. Working with one half, roll, push, and press into a roughly 10 inch circle and place on the prepared baking sheet. Poke all over with holes and brush lightly with olive oil. Parbake for 5 minutes until starting to turn golden.
- Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce over the parbaked dough. Sprinkle with half of the cheese, and arrange half of the pepperonis overtop. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes until the cheesy is melty and bubbling. Repeat with the second ball of pizza dough. You will have sauce leftover.
- Meanwhile, make the hot honey. Combine the honey, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powders, and pepper flakes in a microwave-safe bowl or jar. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, then heat an additional 20-30 seconds until the honey is more viscous and the ingredients combined.
- Drizzle hot honey over the pizza and serve hot.
