‘THE BEST PARTS OF THE LASAGNA’ PIZZA
I have been chosen as 1 of 30 bloggers to compete in the Don Pepino Blogger Recipe Challenge. The challenge is to create innovative and unique recipes with Don Pepino Pizza Sauce in 3 categories – Signature Pizzas, Beyond the Slice, and Appetizers & Shareables.
I know we are working with ‘pizza’ sauce here, but I really think this sauce would be good in so many different dishes, so as I was ‘noodling’ ideas, I thought about making a lasagna. Then, I took it one step further and thought about fusing two of my favorite Italian dishes and making a lasagna pizza!! The BEST part about this pizza is the crunchy noodle edges I love so much on a lasagna are not just on the edges – you get them in every bite!! I have already made this pizza 2 times in 4 days per request of my family!!
Note – you can click on any of the photos in the post for a link to the recipe or scroll to the bottom of this post for the whole recipe. You can also click on the Don Pepino image above for a direct link to their website and shop page.
‘THE BEST PARTS OF THE LASAGNA’ PIZZA
½ pound lasagna noodles
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ½, 14.5 ounce cans Don Pepino Pizza Sauce
1 pound pizza dough
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ cups mozzarella
1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn into small pieces
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Break the lasagna noodles into squares about 2” wide and add them to the pot. Cook for 8-9 minutes until the pasta is very al dente (about 3 minutes less than package directions). Drain and toss the noodles with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.
Add the sausage to the pan and cook, breaking the sausage up with a wooden spoon or spatula, for 3-4 minutes until it is mostly cooked through. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes more until soft and fragrant.
Add the Don Pepino pizza sauce and the noodles to the pan and toss, toss, toss until all of the noodles are well coated in the sauce. Put 2-3 tablespoons of water in the pizza sauce can, swish it around to get any sauce left on the sides, and add it to the pan – so you get every ounce of that delicious sauce. Bring to a low boil and cook, tossing, 2-3 minutes until the pasta is a little softer but still al dente in texture. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Shape your pizza dough into a 9” x 13” rectangle and place it on a large, rimmed baking sheet that has been lightly brushed with olive oil. Spread the saucy noodles and sausage evenly over the top of the dough leaving the edges of the crust exposed. Top with the parmesan cheese and then the mozzarella. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil all over the exposed edges and lightly over the top of the noodles.
Place the pan in the oven and cook for about 12-15 minutes until the golden brown all over. Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
Dollop the ricotta all over the top of the pizza and garnish with the parsley and basil. Cut into slices and DEVOUR!!
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