Thursday, April 16, 2009

Pesto Sausage and Kale Pizza

sausage kale pizzaWith all the smack talk about Giada's bounteous assets, I must admit that 90% of my jesting is driven by pure jealousy. Have you seen her new TV show, Giada at Home? Talk about living in luxury. Giada's home is the epitome of the gorgeous seaside house I'd like to have one day, but probably never will. Ok, I'm also jealous of her big smile. There, I've said it.

sausage kale pizzaNow that I've gotten that off my chest, I can better concentrate on food. Hubby and I have a lot of favorites, but this pizza is certainly up there. It's perfect in that it can be as easy or as complicated as you wish. We've made this with both homemade dough and Trader Joe's dough. The same goes for the sauce. As much as I love making my dough from scratch on the weekends, TJ's refrigerated pizza dough is so yummy & so cheap that it's hard to even think of stressing myself out about how I can get dough to rise while I'm at work.


sausage kale pizzaIf you're lucky enough to have a Henry's in your area, please get up and go try their market fresh sausage, homemade each morning. They have quite a few different flavors and our favorites have been the pesto, garlic & herb and sweet Italian sausages. Cooking the sausage in the sauce helps flavor both the sauce and the meat.

*Just a tip for TJ's pizza dough: be sure to prebake it before putting on sauce and toppings. It can get soggy otherwise.

Pesto Sausage and Kale Pizza

Trader Joe's Whole Wheat pizza dough or homemade dough
1 bunch lacinato kale
olive oil
2 large links uncooked chicken or turkey pesto sausage, casings removed
pinch of Kosher salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon of water
1 1/4 cup pasta sauce (I like to use a chunky sauce; use more if you like a lot of sauce)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
If using TJ's pizza dough, allow it to rest for about 15-20 minutes on a floured surface. On a floured surface, roll out pizza dough. Mine never ends up in a perfect circle, so use your creativity :)

Wash lacinato kale thoroughly and pull leaves off of thick stems. Tear apart into smaller pieces.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and break up links. Once sausage is browned, but not fully cooked, add pasta sauce and allow to simmer.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add lacinato kale and allow to sit for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with Kosher Salt and garlic. Toss the kale and add 1 tbsp of water. Cover and let steam for about 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat once done.

Pre-cook pizza crust for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Spread sausage pasta sauce on pizza dough. Place kale on top and sprinkle entire pizza with mozzarella cheese.

Return pizza to oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is thoroughly melted .

35 comments:

Leslie said...

ya know, I have never had kale before. Looks divine

Anonymous said...

Henry's!!! I loooove to go to Henry's whenever I'm visiting my parents in San Diego. :)

Ooh and this pizza looks delicious. I'm jealous of Giada too. :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Giada At Home = guilty pleasure television :-D

Such a beautiful pizza!! Looooove kale.

kat said...

I wonder if its really her house, all the other Giada series have been filmed in houses they rented out in Southern, CA not hers. The pizza looks fab!

Dewi said...

Very clever idea Sharon, adding kale to the pizza is unusual and clever.
I am sure it's delicious!
Cheers,
elra

Jennifer said...

I have been afraid of Kale, but that looks really yummy!

Sara said...

Looks delicious! I love making pizza at home, it's quick and relatively healthy.

Melissa said...

That pizza looks so good. I love Giada and envy her all at once. She had a baby 4 months before I did and still looks flawless. I on the other hand. . .

The Blonde Duck said...

Now you've got me jealous of Giada and her food and I've never seen the show!

Jennifer said...

I've seen Giada's home too and I am totally jealous as well.

I always figure her daughter is upstairs being taken care of by a nanny while Giada cooks. Did you see the one where her husband and their friend go surfing and she makes this fabulous feast for them? What a life!

I love your pizzas. I've never been a huge kale fan, but maybe I would like it in pizza!

Thanks for sharing the recipe!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

What a delicious pizza.

Esi said...

I have to admit...not liking Giada so much on the new show, but her recipes are awesome! I will have to try this pizza sometime.

vanillasugarblog said...

I have wanted to try the TJ pizza dough, but been afraid as it's really hard to find a good dough around. So I take it you like and therefore I must try it, because I know you have high standards in food too.
I love Giada and her recipes, but have yet to see that show.

Jeff said...

A pizza should never be in a perfect circle because I think it looks to fake and lake that home cooked feel.

Sausage and peperoni pizza is one of my favorite and now I am really craving that. Great use of kale too!

How are your markets looking out there?

Christina Kim said...

Looks so tasty! Great suggestion to pre-bake the TJ's pizza dough... no one likes soggy pizza! I especially love the addition of kale -- beautiful color, and so very good for you!

noble pig said...

I used to live by a Henry's but no more! This looks so, so good!

Unknown said...

omg i totally want to live with her :) i mean in her house. either one, lol! this looks soooo yummy!

Sophie said...

Lol now I have to see that show, I want to see her house! I don't think I've seen it yet! I don't think I could ever get tired of pizza or greens, in fact, I just made some this week :P. I usually put spinach on mine, I'll have to try it with kale!

Pearl said...

i've never had kale, but after seeing that photo, i now must try!

Unknown said...

This pizza looks gorgeous, gorgeous, delicious and dare I say somewhat healthy? It sounds fantastic and your photos have me craving it.

skinnybovineskitchen said...

mmm... i love pizza. and my husband and i were talking about our future wonderful garden we'll have when we aren't in apartment living and he asked if i liked kale - this looks like a great thing to use it for! i'll add it to my garden list!

grace said...

first of all, i love the crispy crust. why, oh why can't there be a tj's around here?
secondly, great topping choices! the end result is stunning and undoubtedly delicious--i could probably eat the entire pie myself. :)

Elyse said...

Sharon, this pizza looks totally fabulous. You've done a great job. OH, and I loveeee TJ's pizza dough. Delicious!

Chef Fresco said...

We love pizza & especially Trader Joe's dough - so cheap and easy! I like the idea of using kale

Pam said...

I am loving kale lately - this looks like a great way to use it. The pizza looks incredible.

Kristen said...

I've tried to avoid watching that show because I know once I do I'll be soooo jealous!
This pizza looks so interesting. I have Kale coming in my CSA box this week. May have to try it this way!

MrOrph said...

Pizza and kale? How interesting Sharon. Very interesting. I guess is isn't so much more different than arugula.

Looks extremely tasty. Lovin' that pesto sausage.

Kerstin said...

Sounds like a delicous gourmet pizza! You've reminded me that I still need to check out her show!

Brownie Power said...

Wow this looks delightful!! Go go pizza!

Kathy - Panini Happy said...

This sounds so delicious! I love sausage on my pizza. I still haven't caught Giada's new show - I need to find it and set the DVR, would love to see her luxurious digs :-)

Emily said...

This is my kind of pizza. I love sausage on pizza. I love greens on pizza! And pesto.

I wish I could try that pizza dough. No Trader Joe's around these parts.

Aggie said...

oh oh oh....what a great way to use kale!! Love this! Great photos!

Larissa said...

Yum. Thanks for the TJ's pizza dough tip. I'll take that into account next time I make pizza!

emiglia said...

This pizza looks absolutely incredible... nice and saucy: just like I like it!

And I'm super jealous of Giada too. That's the only reason I call her little-big-head.

Meghan said...

This pizza looks great!!! I had some issues with TJ's pizza dough so I appreciate your tips.

I'm a little jealous of Giada as well :) Have you seen her view from her kitchen window???!!!! Amazing! I used to have some animosity towards her, but I finally gave in and think she's adorable and very talented!