I recently made some turkey meatballs (see Kel’s Tasty Turkey Meatballs for Pasta, Pizza and Pitas) and promised I would share my recipe for homemade Italian pizza. These meatballs have the right balance of seasonings and the addition of the paprika gives them a nice, smoky kick.

The savory meatballs, sweet onions, slight bitterness of the green peppers and the mild black olives are a perfect combination on my homemade herb and garlic crust.

Ingredients for the Dough (makes one 14” pie)

• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (I used pizza crust yeast)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (this is used to brush on the dough once it has risen.)

Dough Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the ingredients according to your bread machine’s directions (I add mine in the order listed above.) For this dough I use the Quick setting, which takes 45 minutes. Once the dough is finished, remove it from the bread machine. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 20 minutes. Lightly flour your working surface and rolling pin, and roll the dough out until it will fit on a pizza baking pan.

I have a Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch® Nonstick Pizza Crisper (pictured below) that gives the pie a crisp, golden crust. The pan has a perforated surface that exposes the bottom of the pizza to direct heat, and is one of my favorite pieces of bakeware.

Spray the pan with cooking spray. Place the rolled dough in the pan, and make sure that it comes up to the edges. Brush the crust with extra virgin olive oil, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Cook the crust in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes.

Ingredients for the Topping

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin oilve oil
• 1 can (15 oz.) pizza sauce (flavored tomato sauce works fine, too)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used a 6-cheese Italian blend)
• Oregano to taste
• Garlic salt to taste
• 9-10 turkey meatballs, sliced
• ½ large green pepper, sliced
• ½ medium sweet onion, sliced
• 1 can (2.2 oz) sliced black olives
• ¼ cup Parmesan/Romano cheese, grated

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the dough with the olive oil and evenly spoon on the pizza sauce. 

Spread the shredded cheese on top and add the garlic salt and oregano to taste – I like several shakes of each. Top with the turkey meatballs, green pepper, onion slices and black olives. Sprinkle that with the Parmesan/Romano cheese.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the crust starts turning brown and the cheese has melted. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!