Cheese Please

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

If you’re a fan of spinach artichoke dip, or just a fan of cheesy goodness, this pizza is for you. I make pizzas almost every week and was growing a bit tired of my usual varieties. I came across this recipe and knew that this would instantly become a new favorite of mine. I added a little extra spinach to make this a more veggie heavy pizza (not that there is any way to make this cheesy filled dish healthy, but I tried). I have made this pizza twice now, once in the oven and once on the grill. I generally prefer grilled pizzas as I like a thin, crunchy crust but you’ll enjoy this no matter how you cook it.  

Ingredients:

Pizza dough*

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 ½ bags of fresh spinach

1 (14 ounce) can of artichoke hearts

2/3 cup ricotta cheese

8 ounces freshly grated mozzarella cheese

4 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

*Sometimes I make my own dough but I usually buy mine at the grocery store.

Preparation:

1.      Drain the liquid from the canned artichokes and lay on paper towels to drain. Press the artichokes to get rid of all the extra moisture; you may need to use a few paper towels. Chop the artichokes and place on a paper towel again to drain.  

2.      Add artichokes to bowl with ricotta cheese.

3.      Heat a large skillet over medium low heat and add olive and shallots. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes but be careful they don’t burn. Add in garlic and spinach, tossing to coat and cooking until spinach is wilted. Add spinach mixture to the bowl with artichokes and ricotta, reserving the remaining garlic and oil in the pan.

4.       Add salt, pepper, 1/4 cup parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine.

5.      Roll out pizza dough and place in the oven for approximately 5 minutes. Time is dependent on how hot your oven gets, you want the dough to cook until it’s just starting brown a bit on the top. If you are doing this on the grill leave it on for about 2 minutes but watch it as it burns quickly.

6.      Remove pizza from grill or oven and brush it with left over oil from the spinach. Spread the ricotta spinach mixture over the dough evenly. Sprinkle the remaining  parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top. Bake for 7 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. If this is grilled grill for about 4 minutes watching it carefully.

7.      Time to devour!  

P.S.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!