I don’t know about you, but pizza is my weakness. I absolutely love pizza and all of the amazing combinations that it can be. I decided to take inspiration from one of my favorite pizza places for this combination and have fallen head over heels in love with it.

I’m calling it a Rustic Pizza because of all of the amazing earthy flavors this pizza has. Add some caramelized onions, mushrooms, crumbled sausage,  mozzarella AND goat cheese then go ahead and top with some arugula and drizzle with a balsamic reduction. I’ll give you a second to take that all in…

The combination of the mozzarella and the goat cheese make for this awesome gooey, smoky, and cheesy combination that go perfectly with the caramelized onions and mushrooms. I haven’t always been the biggest goat cheese fan, but this is a perfect way to introduce the flavors to your palate. It’s subtle, but adds so much depth to the flavor. You’ll thank me once you try it!

There also isn’t a sauce for this pizza, but it doesn’t need it. Just add a little olive oil and S+P top with the rest of the ingredients. There’s enough flavor there that you won’t miss a sauce.

I’m convinced that this would also make the most amazing breakfast pizza. Imagine it now. Crack a few eggs on top of the cheese and let them cook so they’re nice and over easy. Pretty sure that would be next level. Please let me know if you #putaneggonit and show it off on Instagram!

You can even cut this into small squares and serve it as an appetizer. I’m mostly just all about trying to eat this at as many meal and occasions I can. Try it and I’m sure you’ll agree!

Rustic Pizza with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

Yield: 1 pizza

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

A pizza with Rustic flavors like caramelized onions, mushrooms, mozzarella, goat cheese, arugula, and a balsamic reduction to top it off.

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Ingredients

• 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp to top dough
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 pound ground sausage
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• arugula, to top

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Combine very warm water with yeast in a bowl and mix with a spoon. Let sit for 10 minutes until the combination becomes bubbly. Mix in 1.5 cups of flour, salt, and olive oil slowly and combine with a spoon until sticky. On a floured surface, knead together the dough and slowly add in remaining 1/2 cup flour until dough ball is pliable, but not sticky about 10 minutes. Put some olive oil in the clean bowl and roll around the ball in it to coat. Place a towel over the top of the bowl and let sit for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles.
3. While dough is rising, melt butter in a skillet. Add in mushrooms and onions and mix occasionally until mushrooms are translucent and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in sausage. Cook and crumble until browned all the way through. Remove with a slotted spoon and let rest on a paper towel on a plate.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stretch out dough and use rolling pin to evenly spread out. Use remaining olive oil, salt, and pepper to cover the dough. Layer onion and mushroom mixture, sausage, mozzarella, and goat cheese. Cook for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
5. While pizza is cooking, put balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer until reduced by half stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes depending on consistency desired. Check with a spoon to see how well it sticks to the back. Remove from heat until use.
6. Remove pizza from oven and top with arugula. Drizzle balsamic reduction and enjoy!

Dough adapted from Half Baked Harvest.