[1] Skillet sausage pizza. Here’s a second recipe from Rachael Ray (photo © Food Network).

[2] Colavita’s sausage skillet pizza. The recipe is at right (photo © Colavita Recipes).

[3] Crushed tomatoes have a smoother texture than diced tomatoes. They make smooth sauces, and are great for soups, chili, or as a pizza topping. Colavita’s crushed tomatoes are grown on the sun-drenched vines of Po Valley in northern Italy (photo © Stock Up Express).

October is National Sausage Month, October 11th is National Sausage Pizza Day, and we’ve got an easy sausage pizza recipe.

This skillet pizza from Colavita is made in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron adds extra crispiness to the crust.

The pizza is still baked in the oven but in a cast iron skillet instead of a regular baking pan.

This might be our new favorite recipe for making pizza. The hot cast iron skillet produces a more crispy and chewy crust than a regular pizza pan. The top gets toasted, cheesy edges, and the recipe delivers mouthfuls of great sausage flavor.

Note: Don’t use a cast iron skillet with enameled coating on the cooking surface—it radiates less heat than straight cast iron.

> More sausage holidays: National Sausage Roll Day is June 5th, and August 16th is National Bratwurst Day.
 
 
> The history of pizza.

> 40 different types of pizza.
 
 
RECIPE: SAUSAGE SKILLET PIZZA

Colavita used its Extra Virgin Olive Oil throughout the recipe, but if you want to conserve your EVOO, you can use everyday olive oil for everything except the last tablespoon, which is drizzled over the top of the pizza.

You can save time with purchased marinara sauce. And yes, you can replace the sausage with pepperoni or whatever topping(s) you like.
 
Ingredients For The Marinara Sauce

 
Ingredients For The Pizza

 
Equipment

1. MAKE the marinara sauce. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and sauté until softened and brown, about 5 minutes. If using the red pepper flakes, add them and sauté for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir.

2. SUBMERGE the bunch of basil in the mixture, along with the bay leaf. Pour in the balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

3. REMOVE the sauce from the heat and set aside. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.

4. MAKE the pizza. Heat your oven to 450°F. While the oven is heating…

5. PLACE a cast iron skillet on your stovetop and heat it over medium-high heat. Pour in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Stretch out the pizza dough to a size that fits in your skillet. Carefully place the dough in the hot skillet. It will sizzle and that is good! You want it to toast from the bottom. Allow it to toast for a few minutes until golden brown. You can peek underneath using a metal spatula.

6. ADD the marinara sauce all the way to the edge of the dough. Sprinkle the cooked sausage on top. Add the mozzarella cheese on top of the sausage, making sure to sprinkle it all the way to the edge. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon EVOO and dust with the grated parmesan cheese.

7. PLACE in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh herbs.

8. ALLOW the pizza to rest for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the skillet and place it on a cutting board to serve.
 
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*Tetra Pack is a brand of aseptic (free from pathogenic microorganisms) cartons used for liquid food items that can be stored for up to one year without refrigeration.