½poundorganic ground chicken Italian sausage, turkey or pork*
1large egg
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
½teaspoongarlic powder
¼teaspoonsea salt
¼teaspoonblack pepper
¾ - 1cuppesto, see recipe below
4ozfresh mozzarella balls bocconcini or ciliegine, drained and halved (I used Buffalo milk)* see notes for dairy-free options
optional for garnish:
fresh basil and red pepper flakes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Be sure your 12-inch cast iron skillet is well-seasoned or lightly greased.
In a large mixing bowl, add the organic chicken and Italian sausage, 1 egg, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper.
Mix together until very well. combined. Press the mixture into your seasoned cast iron skillet. Go to the edge and create a little lip on the crust. Make sure it is even.
Bake for 20 minutes. The crust will shrink a bit.
Remove the pan and carefully pour off any grease. Blot with a paper towel if you'd like.
Top the crust with pesto, spread evenly. Top with fresh mozzarella or other cheese (or cheese alternative)
Bake another 15-20 minutes. Place under the broiler for a minute or two to brown up, if you prefer.
Let cool 5 minutes. Cut into slices and enjoy.
Notes
I recommend dark meat ground chicken, if possible. I like to source my pasture-raised, sustainably-sourced meat from Buy Ranch Direct (use code "tasty" to save 5% on the TY curated box) For the sausage can use ground chicken sausage, ground turkey or if you prefer ground pork sausage (it will be a bit fattier so likely more fat to drain off, but the taste is still amazing). If you prefer not to use sausage at all, you an also use straight up ground pork or additional ground chicken. You can use ground turkey instead of ground chicken. For dairy-free: leave out the cheese in the pesto and replace with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor or you can simply leave it out. In place of the fresh mozzarella, opt for a dairy-free cheese that you like, add a dollop of cashew cream or again, simply leave off.