Cocoa Nib and Spiced Lamb Sausage Pizza recipe

Apparently the recent radio interview that I did with Evan Kleinman on National Public Radio's Good Food caused quite a commotion. The producer wrote they were innundated with requests for my recipe for Cocoa Nib Sausage, which I use to top my Chocolate Pizza Dough from The Great Book of Chocolate.

I get a lot of quizzical looks from people when they hear the words 'chocolate' and 'pizza' in the same breath, but adding sugar to chocolate is a relatively new idea in the grand history of the bar (remember how your mother only kept unsweetened Baker's chocolate in the house?)
And there's many cultures that use chocolate in savory dishes whose origins go back hundreds and in some cases, thousands of years, including Mole and here in France, where it's not uncommon for many cooks to sneak a bit of grated a chocolate into their Coq au Vin.

Many years ago, I became good friends with Joanne Weir, when we were young cooks starting out and before we knew any better. Now she's famous with a television career and many terrific books to her name and we try to see each other when we passes through each other's town. My favorite recollection of her is when she came to my house in San Francisco to make pizza. All I remember is there were a lot of empty bottles of Barolo the next day and a copy of this recipe on my counter that was splattered with garlic oil and a few flecks of parsley (and my oven was a mess too.) So when I was looking for the perfect topping for my pizza dough recipe, I adapted her recipe, adding crunchy and unsweetened cocoa nibs which gave it a nice savory crunch, as well as a bit of chocolate flavor...for those of you who can't wait for dessert.

And you know who you are...

Cocoa Nib and Spiced Lamb Sausage Pizza
Adapted from a recipe by Joanne Weir

Enough for two 9-inch pizzas, or 1 rectangular baking sheet pizza (approximately 11" by 17")

You can use this recipe to top your favorite pizza dough recipe if you'd like and I would imagine it would also be delicious simply cooked in a skillet then tossed with hot noodles, served with lots of freshly-grated Pecorino cheese shaved over the top.

1 recipe for Chocolate Pizza Dough, rolled out onto baking sheets

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ pound ground lamb
½ cup peeled, seeded, and chopped canned plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste or harissa
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
large pinch (each) cinnamon, allspice and cloves
1/8 teaspoons red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh lemon juice
¼ cup cocoa nibs

4 ounces fontina cheese, grated
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil and the minced garlic. Set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet and cook the onions until soft and translucent. Add the lamb, tomatoes, tomato paste (or harissa), parsley, pine nuts, spices, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook slowly for 10 minutes (uncovered).

Remove from heat and add a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice and let cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, stir in the cocoa nibs.

To make the pizzas: Brush top of pizza dough with garlic-infused olive oil. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the dough then spread the sausage over the cheeses. Finally top with the remaining cheese and bake the pizza in a very hot oven until the cheese is bubbling and deep-golden brown.

Cocoa Nibs are available from ScharffenBerger and Dagoba.