Meatball Focaccia Pizza
It is back-to-school time again. For me, that comes as a relief. It means that all the vacationers will be traveling back to their home states and Summit County will get a much needed breath of fresh air. I love shoulder seasons in Summit; it allows you to truly experience what a small county it really is. It also gives me some time to focus on creating fun new recipes, like this one!
I saw a biscuit meatball sub bake on Pinterest a few months ago, which got my imagination going. I loved the idea of juicy meatballs cooked into dough! The recipe I saw used biscuit dough, which seemed a bit strange to me. I ended up deciding to use pizza dough to make a focaccia bread.
You can find pre-made pizza doughs at Whole Foods or Safeway, if you want a quick easy meal. When you are letting the dough rise around the meatballs, make sure to keep it somewhere a bit warmer. This will speed up the process.
When the bread is finished, you can top your pizza with whatever additional toppings you’d like!
Meatball Focaccia Pizza
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground meat
- 1/2 c bread crumbs
- 2 T minced yellow onion
- 1 t garlic powder
- 1 t crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 t dried thyme
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t pepper
- 1 pizza dough
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 T fresh parsley minced
- 1 T fresh rosemary minced
- 1 t black pepper
- 1 T olive oil
- 6-8 meatballs
- 2/3 c pizza sauce
- 2/3 c shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley and crushed red pepper for garnish
Instructions
- For the meatballs, combine the ground meat, bread crumbs, onion and spices in a medium bowl.
- Portion 2oz meatballs. Be careful not to work the meat too much when rolling the balls, or they can become tough.
- For the pizza, knead 2 cloves minced garlic, fresh parsley, rosemary and black pepper into the pizza dough.
- Grease one 10-inch pan with olive oil. Stretch out the dough to cover the bottom of the pan and let rise for about 10 minutes.
- Press meatballs into the dough and continue to let rise for about 20 more minutes, until the dough is covering the meatballs.
- Preheat the oven to 475F. Bake the meatball bread until golden and cooked through, 25-30 minutes.
- Add the pizza sauce and cheese to the top of the bread. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Garnish with red pepper and parsley to serve.
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