Gluten Free Pizza Pot Pies

I’ve given myself the informal deadline of proving to you by the end of the calendar year that the gluten free pizza dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread is the sort of thing that you simply must keep in your refrigerator every.single.week. In service of that goal, I give you these gluten free pizza pot pies. They don’t taste like more traditional pot pies, but they’re made up of all sorts of savory goodness packed into 2-cup ramekins (sauce! cheese! sweet peppers! sausage!)—all covered in my most favorite gluten free pizza dough. I can attest to the fact that one ramekin + a green salad = dinner even for a whole bunch of freakishly hungry growing children who never ever eat off of a children’s menu and sometimes even find an adult-sized portion to be, well, lacking.

The fillings can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator (separately or all mixed together), then topped with pizza dough (and more cheese!) and baked to perfection. The whole thing comes together rather quickly. And if you’re faced with a family that sometimes has to eat in shifts (hey, it happens), you can assemble all the individual dishes, and bake them as you need them.

One more thing: my children were thrilled when I gave them the nod to eat the brown crusty pizza around the edge with their hands. It’s the little things…

Prep time: 25 minutes       Cook time: 25 minutes       Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

4 cups tomato sauce (prepared or homemade)

3/4 pound gluten free sweet Italian pork sausage, casings removed

1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 small sweet bell pepper (red or yellow), seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

14 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese (12 ounces shredded, 2 ounces sliced thinly)

1 recipe Thick Crust Gluten Free Pizza Dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread (reprinted here on the blog), prepared through the first rise*

Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, beaten)

*Note: If you prefer, rather than allowing the dough its first rise for at least 12 hours in a sealed container in the refrigerator before working with it, you may make and use the pizza dough on the same day. It will not be as easy to handle, however, but you can work with it. To use the dough the same day it is made, after making the dough, set the covered dough to rise in a warm, draft-free environment to allow it to rise to double its size (about 1 hour). Once it has doubled, place it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or until it is chilled. This will make it much easier to handle. Then, continue with the rest of the recipe instructions.

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 400°F. Divide the tomato sauce equally among 6 individual oven-safe ramekins, each about 16 ounces in capacity. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, place the ramekins on top and set aside.

• Place a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Using a wooden spoon, break up the pieces until they’re bite sized. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cook through (about 8 minutes). Remove the cooked sausage from the pan to a small heat-safe bowl and set it aside. You may now either drain all of the rendered fat from the sausage and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan, or drain some of it and use 1 tablespoon olive oil. I usually do the former. Add the onion and diced pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the pepper is softened (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for another 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant. Divide the vegetable mixture and the cooked sausage among the ramekins, and mix to combine. Divide the shredded mozzarella cheese among the ramekins, and set them aside.

• Divide the prepared, chilled pizza dough into 6 equal pieces. Place each on a lightly floured surface and, using a rolling pin and the method seen in this (oddly quiet) video, roll the dough into a round of dough at least 1/4-inch thick. Transfer each piece of dough to its own ramekin, placing it on top, with the edges overlapping the top of the baking dish. Lightly press the dough down on the top of the shredded cheese. Using a pastry brush, cover the pizza dough generously with the egg wash and top with a couple slices of sliced mozzarella cheese. Place the ramekins, still on the baking sheet, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the pizza dough is golden brown all over and the cheese on top has begun to brown (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before serving.

• Adapted from Pillsbury, as selected from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board.