Pizza with CASHEWS

Pepperoni pizza is my weakness.  Even when I was a strict vegetarian, I could not resist the siren call of pepperoni pizza.  So, lately on Pizza Night at home, we've been alternating between good vegetarian pizza (Like this gem: Spinach Pizza) and pepperoni.  Now, a certain Bengali gentlemen suggested that we mix it up a bit and add something different to the meatatarian pizza night we had planned.  So, I went hunting for new and interesting combinations.

Turns out, in California, there was apparently a restaurant called Dave's Fabulous Gay 90s Pizza Parlor (more information here) that had a special pizza that had cashews on it.  Jackpot!  We had a new pizza topping to try.

So this particular pizza is made with a bunch of shredded mozzarella, spicy red sauce, caramelized onions and cashews.  And, it's even better than just regular pepperoni pizza.  Let me tell you, it was approximately the best pizza EVER.  I can't even write about it without feeling hunger pangs, so I'm just going to get right down to the recipe:



Ingredients:
2-4 tsp. red chili flakes
1 medium onion, diced
1 batch of pizza dough (this is a particularly good recipe)
1 c. pizza sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. unsalted cashews
1/3 lb. pepperoni, sliced thin
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper
Cornmeal for dusting the bottom of your pan or pizza stone

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2) Roll out pizza dough as thinly as possible.  Dust pan or stone with cornmeal and lay dough on top.
3) Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet.  Saute onions until browned and delicious.
4) Brush pizza dough with remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil.  Sprinkle with half of the red chili flakes, salt and pepper.
5) Spread red sauce evenly around dough, leaving about an inch border for your crust.
6) Arrange pepperoni slices around the dough.  Top with the caramelized onions.
7) Sprinkle the whole thing with cheese.  Add Cashews.
8) Sprinkle with remaining red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
9) Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until crust is starting to brown and the cheese is all melty.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe, because it's definitely a new favorite of mine.