Recommended crust: 14 oz. American style, either fresh or pre-baked
1/3 cup pizza sauce
6 to 8 oz. thinly sliced deli-style Italian beef or garlic beef
1 each of red, green, and yellow pepper, julienne cut
1 red onion, julienne cut
4 oz. smoked mozzarella, shredded
6 to 9 slices of provolone, torn into pieces
Olive oil
Lightly saute peppers and onion in a little olive oil.
Roll crust out to 12" to 14" with a slightly raised outer edge.
Place on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal; par-bake if a crisper crust is desired.
Spread the crust with a light layer of pizza sauce, then sprinkle the smoked mozzarella evenly over the sauce.
Cut or pull apart the deli beef into strips.
Then layer the beef, onions, and peppers on the crust in that order, and top with pieces of provolone.
Bake pizza on a preheated stone at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until provolone begins to brown lightly at the edges.
Notes:
- Having flavorful beef is especially important, so if you can't find anything good at the deli counter of your local grocery, try to find an authentic Italian butcher nearby, or experiment with making your own in a slow cooker or crock pot. The trick to thin slices, apart from having a professional grade deli slicer at home, is to put homemade Italian beef in the freezer for a couple of hours before you slice it.
- Avoid the temptation of overcooking the peppers and onions. A light sauté is all that is called for, as they will cook further on the pizza, and a slight crunch left in the peppers adds to the textural delights of this pizza-better "mouth feel" as they say in culinary school.
- The layer of smoked mozzarella under the beef gives this pie a wonderfully smoky flavor. Using torn pieces of provolone makes for a more beautiful presentation-the colors of the peppers really come through.
