Crispy Kale and Sausage Pizza

Sorry, my pizzas are ugly, but they taste good, I promise!

Inspired by this post at the kitchn.com and waning of kale season, I bought some kale from the Santa Monica Wednesday farmer's market (in addition to a bunch of other ingredients for my first ever Easter dinner this weekend), and made a crispy kale and chicken sausage pizza. Like in the post, I bought pizza dough from Whole Foods as it was an impromptu meal and I didn't have time to make my own dough. I thought the dough was pretty good: $2.99 and I used half for a pizza that served two people.

Crispy Kale and Sausage Pizza Recipe:

• To make the crispy kale chips, heat the oven to 400 degrees, cut out the middle stems and tear half bunch of kale leaves into 1 inch square strips. Toss with a little olive oil and salt on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove pan and set aside. Turn oven up to 500 degrees for the pizza
• Meanwhile, slice 1/4 lb of mozzarella, slice 4 cloves of garlic, and strain 1 14.5 oz can of seasoned diced tomatoes (I used the organic Whole Foods 365 brand. I thought the seasoning was too strong; I would season it myself in the future for more of a fresher taste. Update: I made this pizza again with fresh tomatoes and it tasted much better
• Saute over medium heat until done (~5 minutes) 1/3 lb of hot italian chicken sausage (1 link), breaking it into crumbles with a spoon
• Stretch out the pizza dough and top with the tomatoes, garlic, sausage, and mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the crust is golden
• Top with the crispy kale chips and slice and serve 

We drank our first rose of the season, a 2009 Rol Valentin Rose from St. Emilion, which was a recommendation from the K&L wine guy. Maybe because it was 2009 and past its peak but it was very bland and watery. I prefer my roses with a little more character and punch.