Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza
Now you don’t have to go all the way to Chicago for a deep dish pizza! The crust is perfectly golden brown, the chunky tomato sauce is completely homemade, and a fresh layer of ooey gooey mozzarella cheese is simply the best combination ever!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup minced sweet onion
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled plum tomatoes with basil, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornmeal
- 1 ¼ pounds pizza dough, at room temperature
- 8 ounces whole milk mozzarella, sliced
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside.
- Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes, if using; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 10-12 minutes; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Move oven rack to the lowest position.
- Lightly coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle skillet with cornmeal.
- Working on a surface that has been sprinkled with cornmeal, roll out the pizza into a 12-inch-diameter round. Transfer to prepared cast iron skillet, carefully pressing the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the skillet.
- Top with mozzarella, sausage and tomato mixture in an even layer; sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Place into oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20-24 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.