Sweet Anise Pizza

Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Shaw's recipe in the September/October edition of Food & Nutrition Magazine is a good one!  The sauce, the crust and the carmelized balsamic fennel toppings are all made from scratch.  I used my own pizza crust recipe (made with yogurt), and a few other substitutions based on ingredients I had on hand.

Individual Pizzas with Sausage & Fennel

(2 6-inch pizzas)

Make pizza dough.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes. 

Carmelized Balsamic Fennel Topping
Saute fennel and shallots in vinegar and water for 10 minutes.
1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
2 tablespoon shallots, diced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water

Tomato Basil Sauce
Combine tomatoes, garlic and seasonings in a saucepan.  Bring to a low boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Cool.
1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes, without salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Puree sauce in a food processor.

Toppings
Crumble and brown sausage on stove-top.  Drain thoroughly. 
3 ounce Italian sausage (purchased locally from Working H Farm)

4 tablespoon fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 large yellow tomato, sliced thinly
4 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Assembly
Punch dough down.  Divide in half.  In 2 6-inch pizza pans greased with olive oil spray, press dough to edges of pan and up the sides.
On each pizza, top with:
2 tablespoon tomato basil sauce
1/2 sausage crumbles
2 tablespoon mozzarella cheese
1/2 caramelized fennel-shallot mix
Yellow tomato slices
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Bake at 425 F. for 12 minutes.

Accompanying these delicious pizzas is homemade applesauce.  The apples were grown at WVU Farms.  My recipe is simple:  Fill the crockpot with peeled and diced apples.  (24 apples).  I sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg after each layer of 6 apples is added to the pot.  Cook on high for 2-3 hours.  This makes 12 servings.