Homemade Ground Beef and Caramelized Onion Grandma Pie

Thick, saucy, easy, and cheesy, this one is a crowd pleaser

Friday night is pizza night in our household, and with one of the best New York pizza places down the block, I used to make pizza only about once every two months. I would pick up a pre-made dough from Trader Joe’s, top with some marinara and cheese and maybe some beef and caramelized onions. I had gotten lazy. It was passable, but not exactly made with love.

Then COVID-19 hit and the city went into self isolation. Trader Joe’s closed a few times and when they were open were understocked because of panic buying. And, at the same time, our local pizza place shut down due to a gas leak in the building. If we wanted to keep tradition alive, I would have to do what I should have been doing all along — make pizza from scratch. The recipe below has been perfected over the past thirteen weeks and is now in the permanent rotation. Instead of once every two months, it has earned a place at the table once every three weeks and has been Made With Love certified.

The ingredient amounts below will make enough topping for two pies and sauce for at least four. Freeze leftover toppings for quick prep the next pizza night!

Cook Time

45 min prep
3 hours rise time for dough
30 min cook time

Ingredients

Yield: 8 servings

Roberta’s Pizza Dough
1 onion, sliced
1 lb ground beef
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp dried oregano
1 can San Marzano tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped basil
Basil leaves
Olive oil
Salt

Step 1

Make a batch of Roberta’s Pizza Dough but do not divide dough into two. This recipe will use the entire dough.

Step 2

As the dough rises, make the caramelized onions. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron or large skillet. Add sliced onions and a sprinkle of salt. Cook stirring often until the onions caramelize, about 25–30 minutes. If the onions start to brown before caramelization, add a 1/4 of water to the pan and continue cooking until all of the water evaporates and then continue until the onions are a deep, rich, brown.

Set aside to cool and then keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Step 3

In same pan used to cook the onions add the ground beef, a dash of salt, and 1tbsp oregano and cook until ground beef is browned. Drain beef and allow to cool. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Step 4

Make sauce. Don’t worry, you don’t have to cook it! You can either use a blender, food processor, or hand blender. Place can of tomatoes and juice in a bowl (if you are using a immersion blender) or your blender or food processor. Add garlic clove, 1tbsp oregano, a pinch of salt, 1tbsp olive oil and blend until smooth. Pour into a zip lock freezer bag. This will be enough sauce for multiple pizzas.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Oil the bottom of a 1/4 sheet pan with olive oil and a paper towel. Do not oil the sides of the pan. Once dough has proofed, place into the center of the 1/4 sheet pan and with your fingers, work outwards until the dough reaches all of the edges. Make sure the dough is even across the base and work the dough up the sides of the pan so that the dough has an edge. Cover with a towel and let proof another 30 minutes.

Step 6

Using a spoon, evenly spread 4–6 tbsp of the sauce on the dough, making sure to go to the edge of the pan, but not the sides. Sprinkle with 1tbsp of oregano, and the parmesan cheese. I sprinkle the cheese on the edges as well. Evenly spread the chopped basil on the pizza, then 1/2 of the onions, and then 1/2 of the ground beef. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 25–30 minutes until the crust and cheese are lightly browned.

Freeze remainder of sauce, onions, and ground beef (onions and ground beef can be frozen in the same bag), for later use.

Step 7

Remove pizza from pan and let cool for ten minutes on a wire rack. Top pizza with the fresh basil leaves and cut into 8 square slices.

Grandma pie with caramelized onion and ground beef is definitely a recipe made with love.

Other stories you might enjoy:

Stress Free Meals During COVID-19I tried four major meal prep services during self isolation, so you don’t have to. Here’s what I learned…medium.com

Braised Short Ribs of BeefComfort food in the extreme.medium.com

John Harbour is a United States Air Force veteran where he was a hostage rescue sniper with the Emergency Services Team (EST) and the leader of an airborne quick response team (AFT). He was last stationed outside of Las Vegas in the middle of the Nevada desert. He also served as diplomatic protection at the United Nations headquarters in New York, is a classically trained actor, has tended bar, worked in advertising and technology and enjoys nothing more than traveling the world searching for stories.

John lives in New York City with his wife and is the author of articles, short fiction, and the novel Nighthawks. He is an incurable wanderlust and is currently working on the novel The Heart. His first non-fiction book, Diary of a Hippie: A Real-Life Journal of What to Expect During a Total Hip Replacement chronicles his journey from diagnosis through the operation and recovery.

Connect with him at www.johnharbour.com/contact for all social media channels and email.