With only a few ingredients and a delicious twist, this pepperoni pizza with broccoli rabe and hot honey is perfect for an impromptu celebration any day of the week.
We can all thank Roberta's Pizza in Brooklyn for pioneering the hot-honey-on-pizza trend. And though I've haven't yet made it to Roberta's IRL, I knew I'd be doing you all a disservice by not testing this trend myself. After all, I believe that finishing touches can take homemade pizza to a whole new level. (I even posted a whole video about it on my YouTube channel.) A drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt make a simple margherita sing. Ranch dressing makes a delicious dip for pizza crust. A scattering of fresh herbs brighten up almost any pizza. (I could go on and on and on . . . )
John made me a hot-sauce-on-pizza convert years ago, so when I heard about this spicy honey thing, it wasn't a tough sell. Typically, the best meals (in my opinion) include a mix of the five major tastes: sour, bitter, salty, umami, and sweet.
In this pepperoni pizza with broccoli rabe, you've got salty and umami from the cured meat, sour from the tomato sauce, bitter from the rabe, and sweet from the honey, which is drizzled on after baking. While it's a simple recipe, it's also mind-blowing—just like pizza itself.
Sweet-Hot Pepperoni Pizza with Broccoli Rabe
Equipment
- Large rimmed baking sheet or baking stone/steel
- Pizza peel (optional)
- Cutting board and knife
- Rolling pin (optional)
Ingredients
- ½ bunch broccoli rabe trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough
- ½ to ⅔ cup super-easy marinara sauce
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced or pinched into small pieces
- 3 to 4 ounces sliced pepperoni
- ¼ cup grated aged Gouda cheese
- Kosher salt
- chile-infused ("hot") honey for drizzling (such as Mike's Hot Honey, Bees Knees Spicy Honey, or Swarmbustin' Honey Hot Pepper Honeybear)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (if using a baking sheet) or as high as it will go (if using a baking stone/steel; place the stone/steel in the oven before you start preheating).
- Blanch the broccoli rabe in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Stretch or roll out your dough to a 12-inch circle, then transfer it to an oiled baking sheet or a floured pizza peel (if using a baking stone/steel).
- Spread the marinara sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Squeeze out any extra liquid from the broccoli rabe, then scatter it on top of the sauce, followed by the mozzarella, pepperoni, and aged Gouda. Sprinkle with a big pinch of kosher salt.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet, 6 to 8 minutes on the baking stone/steel.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and immediately drizzle it with hot honey. Wait about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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