This is one of my favorite recipes, my husband’s rendition of the renowned ‘Basil Rathbone’ pizza. One Friday evening, in early summer,  (our pizza and movie night,)  while living in California, we visited a pizzeria and ordered this pizza, purely as an experiment…in fact, I had my husband order our pizza made half, pepperoni and cheese (for me)  and half Basil Rathbone, (for him.)  Well, long story short, I wished the entire pizza was the Basil Rathbone as it was fantastically ‘delizioso.’  Since  we moved to the east coast, we have never found that pizza again, so, we make our own…It is sure to please any crowd as it’s  “very gourmet!” ENJOY!!!

Even though Basil Rathbone was a British actor, ( at times,’the inspector general’ in murder mysteries)  and born in South Africa, this pizza is still very Italian… (At least his first name is (kind of) Italian… (sort of.) 🙂  It is an Italian spice… He even looks a little Tuscan, don’t you think? 🙂

You will need, one large pizza dough…(You can make your own, buy it from a bakery or get it from your local grocery store.) Make sure you read the directions on your dough before you make this pizza, for example, some doughs require a short pre-bake before you place all the ingredients on top…we use homemade dough and do not pre-bake it.

You will also need a small jar of pesto sauce. (We use, Classico Traditional Basil Pesto sauce) or you could make your own. One half of a large red onion, sliced in thin slices,one bell pepper, seeded and  sliced in thin slices, 4 sweet or Hot Italian sausages, sauteed  in either a small amount of butter or olive oil. In cooking the sausage, cut it up  into bite sized pieces so it comes out in a crumbled texture.   You will also need a box of fresh, sliced and cleaned mushrooms, fresh cilantro, rinsed and cut fine, a can of artichoke hearts… (sliced in half,) (we get the artichokes in  brine water and drain them) and lastly,  a large bag of Mozzarella cheese. (OK, our guilty pleasure has been revealed…we are extra cheese lovers. Graham too!)  🙂

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, put that in the oven so it too,will be preheated. if you don’t have a pizza stone, don’t worry about preheating the pan.

2. Spread the pesto sauce on the bottom of your pizza dough. Use a little or a lot…it’s up to your taste. We use a  moderate amount…taste the sauce and you will know…) 🙂

3. Place the sliced onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and cilantro all over the pizza.

4. Spoon out your hot,  pan cooked  crumbled sausage onto a paper towel to drain then place it evenly on your pizza. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes. Check it and see how the bottom of the pizza is browning and make sure your toppings are hot. Take your pizza out of the oven, turn your oven down to 350 degrees,  place an abundance of  cheese on top and return it to the oven until cheese melts. (About five minutes.)  When done, take out of the oven and  allow to cool a little.   You have a meal fit for a king, (or queen.)  I am not sure if the little ones would like this, as it is very gourmet…perhaps have an extra DiGiorno pepperoni pizza in the freezer just in case. 🙂  Delicious with a fresh garden or Caesar salad or sweet marinated tomatoes and cucumbers.  ENJOY!

This recipe can also be  found within my blog, ” The Delizioso Italian Cucino.” With each blog I am writing on the different styles and themes of  “kitchens,” I am also sharing a recipe with you that us advantageous to that particular kitchen. This is one of my all time favorites! 🙂

I highly recommend for “THE BEST” results for this decadents pizza, a pizza stone. I promise you will taste the difference. 🙂

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Victoria Magazine
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