Hot Honey Caramelized Pineapple, Onion and Porchetta Pizza with Sesame Seed Crust
Story Time… yes,I am team pineapple on pizza! Be that as it may, there is one pizza topping that divides friends and families: pineapple. While some pizza aficionados might crave that sweet, sour and salty combination of fruit combined with melted cheese, others cannot stand the idea of pineapple on pizza. The debate will likely continue for decades to come – and likely you have a strong opinion on it – but how did it all begin? Sam Panopoulos, a Greek immigrant created the first Hawaiian pizza at his restaurant, Satellite, located in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. When we first came to Canada, we lived in Wallaceburg, Ontario which is located 25 mins north of Chatham. I remember my baba taking us to Greek school in Chatham and they would all meet up at Satellite and we knew that it was pizza day. After Sam’s passing, August 20th was declared International Hawaiian Pizza Day in honour of Sam’s birthday.
This hot honey caramelized pineapple, onion with porchetta and feta pizza recipe was inspired by my love of pineapple. Of course it has to have a sesame seed crust in honour of my baba as well. My baba started the sesame seed crust at his pizza place in Sarnia in the 80,s and he continues to do so. If you haven’t had sesame seeds on your pizza crust, you are definitely missing out!! This pizza is a delicious way to use up that leftover Easter ham. As the late Gus Portokalos would say, there you go, pineapple pizza was invented by a Greek and is Greek. Enjoy!! 😉
Hot Honey Caramelized Pineapple, Onion and Porchetta Pizza with Sesame Seed Crust
Materials
- 1 cup tomato polpa crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/3 cup quality honey
- 1/4 tsp dried hot chillies
- 2 cups 1/4 inch cubed fresh pineapple
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 680 g store bought pizza dough
- White sesame seeds
- 250 g fresh mozzarella ball cut into thin slices
- 1 cup crumbled sheep’s milk feta
- 8 thin slices porchetta or your favourite ham
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together tomatoes and Italian seasoning. You can also use one cup of store bought pizza sauce. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add honey and chillies and bring to a slight simmer. Stir in pineapple and onions. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook. Stir occasionally until pineapple and onions have caramelized, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 500 F.
- Flour a dry work surface and roll out pizza dough to a 12 or 13 inch round. Transfer to pizza tray or pizza stone. Lightly brush edges of pizza with water all around. Sprinkle with sesame seeds all around edges.
- Spread pizza sauce evenly ensuring you get as close as possible to the sesame crust.
- Top with fresh mozzarella slices and then feta.
- Add ham slices and top with the caramelized pineapple and onions.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is dark golden and crisp.
- Cut into 10 slices and serve hot.
