Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza

This flips deep-dish pizza on its head, literally. Instead of building up from a crust, you layer the fillings into a baking dish, browned ground beef simmered with pasta sauce, then broccoli and a blanket of mozzarella, and drape the pizza dough over the top like a lid.

Baking it crust-side-up means the dough crisps and turns golden while the saucy, cheesy filling bubbles underneath, protected from drying out. Scoop it onto plates and every serving is part crisp crust, part molten filling.

A couple of details make it work: bring the sauce to a boil before it goes in so the dish heats through evenly, and seal the dough tightly to the edges so it traps the steam and bakes into a proper crust rather than sliding off.

The ten-minute rest after baking isn’t optional; it lets the filling settle so it holds together when you serve instead of running across the plate.

Pro Tips

• Seal the dough firmly to the rim of the dish so it stays put and crisps evenly.
• Squeeze thawed broccoli (or spinach) really dry so the filling doesn’t go watery.
• Let it rest the full ten minutes; scooping too soon makes a sloppy plate.
• Drain the beef well after browning to keep the dish from turning greasy.

Variations

• Swap the beef for Italian sausage, turkey or a mix.
• Add sliced mushrooms, peppers or pepperoni to the filling.
• Brush the dough with garlic butter and parmesan before baking.