Chicken Marsala Pizza

I made chicken marsala a while back and had a pretty hefty amount of marsala left over after the final product.  By now it is obvious how much I love pizza so it should not come as much of a surprise that I decided to turn my leftover marsala wine into a pizza.  This pizza is not to be missed...it really captures a wide range of flavors and will please anyone!  There are several steps that can be made ahead of time to have this ready in under 30 minutes at dinner.

Ingredients (Pizza Dough, Meatballs + Marsala Sauce)


Pizza Dough
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
1 teaspoon sugar



Meatballs
3/4 pound ground chicken (or turkey)
1 egg
1 cup breadcrumbs
salt/pepper


Marsala Sauce
1/4 pound mushrooms thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves chopped
olive oil
1 cup marsala wine
1/2 lemon juiced
1 teaspoon capers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese


Pizza Dough (prepare at least two hours before you are ready to make pizza)


Mix yeast and sugar in 1 cup measuring cup.  Add room temp water and let sit for five minutes.  Meanwhile add flour and salt to the food processor and process for 10 seconds to mix together.  When yeast mixture is ready, add to the flour while the processor is running.  If dough is still not combined add another 1/4 of water at a time until dough forms a ball.

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with kitchen towel.  Allow to rest for at least two hours (you can even let this sit for 24 hours!).



While dough is rising it is time to make the meatballs.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine meat, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix until well combined.  Create bite size meatballs and drop them on a greased cookie sheet until all the meat is used up.  When oven is preheated place meatballs in oven and cook about 25 minutes or until browned and meat is cooked through.


Turn heat up to 450 degrees.  This will make your oven hot enough to get your pizza crust nice and brown like a true pizza shop.


The marsala sauce is easier than it looks.  Trust me.  Take 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat in a saute pan over medium high heat.  When hot, add garlic and stir for a minute.  Next add mushrooms and stir to coat about 3 minutes.  Add marsala wine, lemon juice, capers and tomato paste and stir to combine.  This will need to cook about 7 minutes to condense down into a thick consistency.  When done, remove from heat and add meatballs and stir to coat.  Set aside.


Roll out pizza dough on parchment paper until about 3/4 inch thick.  Brush 1/4 cup olive oil on the dough.  Evenly distribute meatball and marsala mixture over the dough and carefully pour any extra liquids on the pizza.  Top with mozzarella cheese


Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is golden as well.