Pepperoni Pizza Fondue Recipe | Jeff Mauro

Level: Easy

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Nutrition Facts (per serving): Serving size: 1/6 of recipe; Calories: 818; Total Fat: 52 g; Saturated Fat: 25 g; Carbohydrates: 49 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 8 g; Protein: 37 g; Cholesterol: 125 mg; Sodium: 2078 mg

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes total

Hands-on: 40 minutes

Who could resist this? Gooey cheese sauce topped with crispy pepperoni is irresistible. When I made this at home I kept coming back for moreit's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Be sure to crisp the pepperoni so you get delightful texture alongside the creamy fondue.

Ingredients

Homemade Breadsticks:
- 1 pound prepared pizza dough
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Garlic salt, to sprinkle
Pizza Fondue:
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch blended with 1 tablespoon water
- 8 ounces freshly shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 8 ounces white American cheese, shredded
- 1 garlic clove, grated finely
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 cup purchased pizza sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups pepperoni slices (preferably "cup and char" type)
- Steamed broccoli, whole button mushrooms (lightly roasted see Cook's Note), and cooked Italian sausage (sliced into 3/4-inch pieces), for serving

Instructions

1. Breadsticks: Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stretch the pizza dough and cut into 12 strips. Arrange on the prepared pan, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic salt, and bake 1520 minutes until lightly golden.
3. Pizza fondue base: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cornstarch slurry. Warm over medium heat until just beginning to simmer, then reduce heat so it's no longer bubbling.
4. Add mozzarella, American cheese, and grated garlic. Whisk gently over very low heat until the sauce is ultra-smooth and not stringy; do not let it simmer. Season with kosher salt to taste.
5. Transfer the cheese mixture to a 10-inch oven-safe braiser or skillet and let it rest for 15 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and position a rack on the lowest level.
6. Spoon pizza sauce evenly over the fondue and sprinkle Italian seasoning over the sauce. Arrange pepperoni slices to completely cover the surface.
7. Broil on the lowest rack until the pepperoni is bubbly and crisped at the edges, forming little cups, about 34 minutes.
8. Let the fondue cool slightly, then serve with the breadsticks, steamed broccoli, roasted mushrooms, and sliced sausage.

Cook's Note: To roast mushrooms, bake at 400F for 1820 minutes.