October is National Pizza Month, but in my opinion, every month is pizza month.  My mother and I make it at least twice a month at home and we prefer it to ordering in, because we can control the quality of ingredients that go into it.  We are picky about our food, particularly our meats and cheeses.  We prefer organically grown vegetables and like to know that the meat and dairy we consume has come from animals who have had happy healthy lives and have been free of chemicals, added nitrates, hormones, etc.   This sweet and spicy pizza features Creminelli Fine Meats brand artisan Calabrese salami.

The Sauce is a combination of Rao’s Homemade Marinara and my Calabrian Chili Paste and the pizza is finished with a drizzle and brush of Fermented Garlic Honey.  If you think honey on pizza is weird, you’re wrong!  And if you don’t have a pizza stone and peel, get one!

Calabrese Salami Pizza with Fermented Garlic Honey Drizzle

Makes (1) 14″ Pie

1/2 cup marinara sauce of your choice (I like Rao’s)

1/4 cup Calabrian Chili Paste

Pizza Dough (Homemade or purchase one from your favorite pizza shop!)

Semolina flour or corn meal (for dusting pizza peel)

EVOO

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

10-12 slices calabrese salami

2-3 Tbls Fermented Garlic Honey

Preheat your oven to 550 degrees with your pizza stone inside for one hour.  While your stone heats, gather your ingredients and prepare the sauce.  Mix together the marinara sauce and chili paste and set aside.  Prepare your pizza peel by sprinkling a thin layer of semolina flour and spreading it lightly over the whole peel.  When the stone is ready, stretch your  dough into a 15″ circle and place on your peel.  Brush the dough with EVOO.  Ladle the sauce onto the dough and spread it to cover the whole dough, leaving about a 1/2 inch edge. Jiggle the peel a bit to make sure that your pizza dough is moving on the peel and will slide off easily when it is time to transfer the pizza onto the stone.  Sprinkle on the cheese making sure not to have too much piled in the middle of the dough.  As the pizza cooks, the toppings tend to slide toward the middle of the pie.  Add the salami slices evenly over the pizza.

Take the pizza stone out of the oven and place on a heat-safe surface.  In a quick and deliberate motion, slide the pizza off of the peel and onto the stone, starting at the edge furthest from you.  This takes some practice, but it’s so much fun!  Immediately put the pizza stone back in the oven and set your timer for 7-8 minutes.  When the dough has risen and the cheese is melted, remove the stone from the oven and slide the pizza from the stone onto a large cutting board.

Brush the crust and drizzle the pizza with the Fermented Garlic Honey.  Let sit 5 minutes before cutting into 6-8 slices and enjoy.  If you have leftovers, reheat the slices in a non-stick skillet covered for 6-8 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese is gooey.