A vodka sauce pizza with fried chicken tenderloins and mozzarella cheese with crispy pizza crust. A delicious and easy recipe to make with your family.
Start by removing your pizza dough from the refrigerator and bringing it to room temperature.
Vodka Sauce
Add the pancetta to a cold pan, bring to medium heat, and fry until the fat renders and the pancetta becomes golden brown, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pancetta and set it aside. Stir in the shallots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and combine everything. Allow the tomato paste to cook for 2 minutes.
Pour in the vodka and deglaze the pan, scraping off all the brown bits. Reduce the vodka until it is no longer liquid and the mixture is mostly tomato and shallots. Pour in the peeled tomatoes and gently break them apart with a wooden spoon. Bring the tomatoes to a boil and then return to a simmer. Add in the basil and salt and return the pancetta to the sauce. Simmer for 25 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream.
Chicken tenderloins
Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, and garlic powder. Chop tenderloins into 1-inch pieces. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the tenderloins to the eggs. One at a time transfer the tenderloins to the breadcrumb mixture and coat and set aside.
Add olive oil to a saucepan and bring to medium-high heat. Fry the tenderloins in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry each side for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Set fried chicken on a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Toss the chicken in a cup of vodka sauce.
Assembling and cooking the pizza
Preheat the grill to high or the oven to 450 ℉
Roll out your pizza dough to the desired shape and place it on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Add 1-2 ladles of sauce to the dough and spread it around. Then add the chicken. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cook on the grill for 5-7 minutes or in the oven for 12-16 minutes.
Notes
Always fry pancetta or guanciale starting from a cold pan. Bring the pan to medium heat and fry slowly to render the fat and create a crispy texture.
You can cook the pizza in the oven, but I prefer to cook pizza on the grill because it gets so hot, similar to a pizza oven. So if you grill it, put the grill on high, and let it preheat until it's 500-600 degrees. Place the baking tray directly on the grill. Check every few minutes until the bottom crust starts browning.