Pesto Broccoli Rabe & Spicy Sausage Pizza

The inspiration for this pizza came to me in Berlin at a Sicilian pizzeria, Malafemmena. The pizza was thin crust with spicy sausage pieces and lots of broccoli rabe. It was such a wonderful combo of salty meatiness with wonderful broccoli rabe. I had to recreate the combo and this is what I made with ingredients available in my neck of the woods.

Pizza Ingredients 

Here’s everything you’ll need:

• Pizza dough While I totally favor making homemade pizza dough, I love the convenience of store-bought or restaurants that will just sell balls of dough. It’s usually about $2-$5, they’re fresh, delicious and save a ton of time.
• Cheese For this pizza, good ole Mozzarella works the best allowing other ingredients to shine. The classic melty goodness of mozzarella will stand up against the spicy sausage and robust broccoli rabe. 
• Sausage spicy Italian sausages has wonderful flavor and come in slightly healthy versions like turkey or chicken or in classic pork. We love the chicken or turkey versions, if you prefer classic pork go ahead and use that. Spicy sausage is made with garlic, fennel, paprika, chili flakes amongst other flavors. Look for them in the deli section or meat department of your grocery store, we love Wholefoods.
• Pesto Store-bought is fine, or you could make our classic pesto. Full of flavor, pesto makes a wonderful base sauce for this pizza.
• Broccoli Rabe for a dose of healthy goodness, broccoli rabe is flavorful with a little bitterness that’s toned down by the creamy cheese. Simply blanch and sauté them in a little olive oil to make them a little pliable and easier to eat.
• Olives for a little briny flavor Kalamata olives adds a little punch here and there.
• Microgreens: for some freshness to top.

How to Make Pesto +Sausage Broccoli Rabe Pizza

With so many ingredients coming straight from the store, this pizza recipe really couldn’t be easier. It’s a weeknight friendly recipe. Here’s how to make a super delicious homemade pesto sausage broccoli pizza: 

1. Push the sausage meat out casing into a pan. Break them up with a wooden spoon and brown the small pieces.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, blanch the broccoli rabe for 1-2 minutes until they’re slightly wilted. Warm olive oil on a pan and sauté the broccoli for 1-2 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 450°F.
4. Stretch out the pizza dough and lay it on a pizza stone or onto a lightly-oiled baking sheet. 
5. Spread a thin layer of pesto to cover the pizza surface. Evenly place the meat and broccoli rabe.
6. Up next, cheese it up.
7. Bake at 450°F for about 10-15 minutes. Garnish with thinly sliced olives, chili flakes, optional microgreens and dig in!