Lamb Merguez Pizza
Cindy Pawlcyn, chef and founder of the Napa Valley’s Mustards Grill, shows us how she makes Lamb Merguez Pizza. She tops the pizza with merguez, a North African-spiced lamb sausage packed with flavor. She pairs the merguez sausage with tapenade, tomato sauce, pecorino, and mozzarella for a delicious and unique flavor combination.
Ingredients
- PIZZA DOUGH
625 g All-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting (optional: combine ½ bread flour, ½ Tipo 00 flour
30 ml Extra virgin olive oil
45 g Sourdough leaven (optional)
5 g Dry active yeast
5 g Kosher salt
LAMB MERGUEZ SPICE MIX60 g Chili powder
45 g Salt, fine
10 g Cayenne
10 g Cumin, ground
10 g Anise seeds, ground
6 g Black pepper, ground
5 g Sweet paprika
3 ea Garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
LAMB MERGUEZ2 lbs American Lamb, ground
3 Tbsp Lamb Merguez Spice Mix (recipe above)
PIZZA SAUCE1 Italian plum tomatoes, 28 oz. can
1 Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Marjoram, dried, crumbled
1 tsp Oregano, dried, crumbled
1 tsp scant Salt
1 tsp scant Sugar
Garlic powder
PIZZA TOPPINGSas needed Cornmeal, medium, for dusting
8 Tbsp Black olive tapenade
3 oz Pizza Sauce (recipe above)
1½ cups Lamb Merguez (recipe above)
1 ea Red onion, sliced thinly and caramelized in extra virgin olive oil
3 cups Mozzarella cheese, fresh, drained on cheesecloth for 24 hours in the refrigerator (optional but will produce a better pizza)
2 cups Pecorino cheese, grated finely, not packed, grated light and fluffy
as needed Extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:
- Put 1 ¾ cups/420 milliliters lukewarm water in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and let dissolve, about 2 minutes.
- Using your hands add flour, olive oil, sourdough leaven (optional), and salt. Mix well until flour is incorporated and dough forms, about 5 minutes.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Turn dough out onto the surface and knead lightly until it looks smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Cut dough into 4 equal pieces, about 8 ounces/225 grams each.
- Wrap dough pieces individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or, for best results, overnight. You can skip this rise and use the dough right away but the cool, slow rise gives the pizza a better texture and flavor.
- To use dough, remove from the refrigerator, unwrap, flour lightly, and cover with a kitchen towel about 45 minutes before baking. Each dough ball will make a 10-inch diameter pizza.
- FOR THE LAMB MERGUEZ SPICE MIX:
- Mix spices well and keep dry. Mix together with garlic and olive oil. Refrigerate overnight.
- FOR THE LAMB MERGUEZ:
- Add a 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil mix to a sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Crumble ground lamb into the pan and cook to medium-rare.
- FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE:
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix into a relatively smooth sauce. You may do this in a food processor on pulse, but do not purée completely.
- TO ASSEMBLE:
- Preheat a baking stone in 500°F oven for 20 minutes.
- Shape an 8 ounce dough ball into a pizza round, about 10 inches in diameter. Dust a pizza peel or the back of a sheet pan with cornmeal and place the shaped dough on top. Shake the peel to loosen the dough and make sure it slides easily. If stuck, add more cornmeal under the dough.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of tapenade across the dough. Add 3 ounces of pizza sauce. Distribute 1 ½ cups crumbled lamb merguez evenly and 3 tablespoons caramelized onions. Finish with ¾ cup of mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Pecorino cheese.
- Carefully slide the pizza onto the baking stone and bake for 4 to 8 minutes depending upon your oven. When the pizza is done, slide the peel under it to remove. Place on a cutting board and cut into wedges.
Lamb Merguez Pizza with Chef Cindy Pawlcyn
Notes
- All components of the recipe are best prepared a day ahead of time. The pizza dough tastes best prepared a day in advance and refrigerated overnight. The lamb merguez is best prepared a day ahead and refrigerated overnight to season the lamb. The recipe will make more than you will need for the pizza but the uncooked meat can be frozen and used at a later time. The sauce can be prepared in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.
