Meatball and Ricotta Pizza

Ingredients:

Meatballs

Makes around 12 to 16 mini-meatballs

• 1/2 pound of ground beef

• 1 small yellow onions, chopped

• 1 cup of grated Romano cheese

• 1/2 cup of flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped

• 1/4 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

• 3 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine all the ingredients above except the olive oil.

2. Using your hands, roll the meat into 3/4 inch balls.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.

4. Fry the meatballs for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until the meatballs are golden brown.

Ingredients:

Basic Pizza Dough

• 4 cup of all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 cups of warm water

• 1 package of active dry yeast

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbls of sugar

PREPARATION

• 1. In a large bowl pour in warm water and sugar

  2. Stir to dissolve sugar.

  3. Add yeast and gently stir until yeast is dissolved.

  4. Let mixture sit for around 15 minutes to activate yeast.

  5. Add oil and salt and gently stir.

  6. Add one cup of flour and mix

  7. Add a second cup of flour and mix until sticky.

  8. Add third cup of flour and mix until dough becomes thick.

  9. Place the dough on a floured board and gradually knead in the remaining flour.

  10. Dust with extra flour and continue kneading until dough becomes firm. About 10 minutes.

  11. Kneading is complete when you have a smooth silky ball of dough. It’s better to over knead than to under knead.

  12. Grease a large bowl with a little oil.

  13. Place dough in the bowl turning once to coat the dough.

  14. Cover with a dish towel an place in a warm place for about 2 hours allowing the dough to double in size.

  15. Take the dough out of the bowl and cut in half and roll the into two balls.

  16. With a rolling pin roll the dough and place onto a grease baking pan.

  17. Cover and let it sit in a warm place for around another hour.

Ingredients:

Pizza

• Basic Pizza Dough

• 2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic,chopped

• 1 tsp of thyme

• 1 tsp of oregano

• 1 tsp of basil

• 1 28oz can of whole San Marzano, tomatoes

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

• 2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbs of butter

• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

• 8 portobello mushrooms, sliced

• 12 -16 meatballs

• 2 cups of ricotta

• 2 8oz balls of fresh di bufala mozzarella, drained, dried and sliced.

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees

2. On a greased baking dish roll the dough out into a round crimping the edges to form a crust.

3. In a medium size saucepan, saute the garlic, thyme, oregano and basil in the olive oil for 2 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and mix together.  Heat through for 2 minutes.

5. Spread the tomato mixture over the pizza.

6. Season with salt and pepper

7. In a small frying pan, saute the onions and mushrooms in the oil and butter until the onions a translucent.

8. Top tomatoes with with onions mixture.

9. Add the meatballs all over the pizza.

10. Add dollops of ricotta all over the pizza.

11. Add the sliced mozzarella.

12. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is crisp