Greens and Garlic Pizza

I really love pizza.  I try to avoid it most of the time, but there are some days when I just need to satisfy my pizza craving.  I like to make this one in particular because it has greens on it!!! I mean that makes it healthy…. right??!?

Oh yeah you also skip the step that involves making sauce, you are not doing it wrong. Trust me here. One less step, I am not complaining!!!

Greens and Garlic Pizza

adapted from Epicurious

1 pizza crust, your favorite recipe
oil base:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
topping:
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), white ribs cut away or any dark leafy green
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic clove, minced
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

For the oil base:
Mix oil, garlic, and red pepper in small bowl. Let stand 1 hour.
For topping:
Cook chard in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain. Squeeze dry, then coarsely chop. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add chard and stir 1 minute. Season to taste with salt.
If you are using spinach skip the boiling and just saute.
Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet.  Brush crust with some of the seasoned oil. Sprinkle the mozzarella over oiled dough. Scatter chard over mozzarella. Top with goat cheese. drizzle remaining oil over pizza.
Bake until pizza is brown, about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

One tip I have in making pizza a simple weekend meal is to make your crust in batches.  I always make a few pizza crusts at a time because they freeze so wonderfully and you can pull and thaw them out so quickly.  Switch up the toppings and you have dinner in no time!

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Greek Pizza

So it is football season and there is no crowd pleaser like good pizza.  If you are like me nontraditional toppings are the best part. This time I decided to go Greek!

I have several crusts that I like to rotate through, but if I am trying to please a crowd and not worried about gluten this one is the way to go.  You can whip it up in the food processor and it crisps up perfect.  Oh, did I mention it also freezes well?? The recipe came from fine cooking.

Pizza Cust

1 Package (2 1/4″ tsp.) active-dry yeast

1 1/2 cups very warm water (110 F)

18oz. (4 cups) all-purpose flour; more for dusting

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. cornmeal

Mix yeast and warm water together.

combine all ingredients in food processor until dough comes together in a large ball.

Split dough in half and place in a large bowl.  Cover with a damp dishtowel and let rise for at least 45 minutes covered

Preheat oven to 500°F.  Roll out dough and fold edges to form the crust.  Transfer to baking sheet or pizza stone and sprinkle each crust with 1 Tbsp. cornmeal.

Prebake crust for 5-8 minutes until starting to brown.  Keep a close eye on it, time can very due to thickness and you want it just starting to turn golden.  This helps keep it crispy once it is loaded up.

Put on ingredients and bake until cheese melted, and golden about 10 minutes.  Again watch closely.

Toppings for 1 pizza:

1/2 c. pizza sauce.

1 c. grated mozzarella

1/2 c. thin sliced red onion

1/4 c. thin sliced tomato

1/4 c. sliced mushrooms, I used portobello

1/4 c. chopped kalamata olives

3/4 c. baby spinach

1/2 c. crumbled feta, if you want a little more bite you can add another 1/4 c. to the top

1 clove minced garlic, you could skip this if your sauce contains a lot of garlic

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

sea salt

Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When hot add garlic and saute 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add spinach and barely wilt, 30 seconds more season with salt.  Transfer to plate and reserve.  Add a tad bit more oil and toss in the mushrooms.  Cook these just 1-2 minutes, add a pinch of salt and remove from heat.  You want them softened, but keep in mind they are going to bake on the pizza so you don’t want to over due it

Start layer on your pre-baked pizza crust.  I started with the sauce then sprinkled on my feta cheese.  Next I laid down the spinach followed by the mushrooms, onions, and olives.  I sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over that.  Last I put on the tomatoes, a sprinkle of salt and another handful of feta right on top.

Cook for 8-1o minutes in your 500°F oven on the middle rack to brown.  Always keep an eye on pizza they can brown quickly.