Pizza alla Monzese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and shallot, and sauté until just translucent

3. Add the heavy cream, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and reduce the cream by half

4. While the cream is reducing, brown the sausage in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, using the back of a spoon to break up any large clumps

5. Drain the sausage on paper towels and reserve

6. Whisk the mascarpone into the cream to incorporate. Add the saffron threads and allow to steep for 10 minutes

7. Stretch each dough ball into a 14-inch pizza pan greased with some of the remaining extra virgin olive oil

8. Spread enough of the saffron-mascarpone mixture over the crusts to just cover

9. Sprinkle half of the browned sausage over each pie

10. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 10 minutes, turning the pizzas once during cooking

11. When the pizzas are done, remove from the oven, top each with half of the parmesan and basil

12. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes

13. Slice and serve