Happy St Patrick’s Day a little early!Β I thought I would share a recipe with a little green in it π
We are getting ready to harvest all of the spinach from our winter garden, and I have been making a lot of spinach dishes.Β My kids have been eating a lot ofΒ spinach pesto, spanakopita, and shells and spinach, so I decided to go in a different direction and make a spinach pizza.Β This pizza is a great way to get extra spinach in your diet and is a nice change from regular pizza.Β It is an olive oil and garlic based pizza with a pile of spinach, mozzarella, and feta cheese.Β What’s not to like, right?Β I have a serious obsession with feta cheese and spinach, but that’s what happens when you grow up with a Greek mom.Β πΒ I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do, and remember to not only wear green tomorrow, but eat something green!
Notes
Make 1 pizza and use the other dough ball to make garlic knots
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cups all purpose flour and more for dusting (I use unbleached)
- 1 ΒΌ cups warm water (not hot)
- 1 Β½ tsp. honey
- 3 Tbsp olive oil and more for greasing bowls (I use extra virgin)
- 2 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet will work fine)
- 1 tsp. salt
- cornmeal (for pan)
Toppings (the topping ingredients are for 1 pizza, double if making 2 spinach pizzas)
- 3 oz. fresh spinach
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 3 Tbsp olive oil (I use extra virgin)
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese
- 4 oz. feta cheese
Instructions
Dough
- Sift the flour and then add salt and stir well with a whisk, and set aside. Add the warm water to a warmed mixer bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 3-5 minutes, and then stir if needed to dissolve the yeast.
- Add the olive oil, honey, and flour mixture. Using the dough hook, mix on low until the dough comes together (about 1.5 minutes). If using the mixer to knead, you will knead for 3.5 minutes on low. Check along the way, and if needed, sprinkle a small amount of flour at a time during this process. The dough should be slightly sticky, soft, and come back when poked.
- Form a ball and place in an oiled bowl and lightly oil the dough on top. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free spot for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Gently remove the dough and place on a scantly floured surface. Gently pat into a rectangle and cut into 2 pieces, and then form 2 balls. Place each in a greased bowl, and cover and let rise for an additional 30 minutes in a warm draft-free spot. If you are newer at shaping pizza dough, place in the refrigerator instead, for at least an hour for the second rise (cool pizza dough is much easier to work).
- Note: You can make this dough the day before. Instead of letting it rise in a warm draft free spot for the first rise, cover well with plastic wrap and let it rise in the fridge. Remove and prep for the second rise, by starting where you gently pat into a rectangle.
Making the Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a good pizza stone, use it and ensure you preheat if needed. Some stones need to be heated for an hour at 500 degrees for optimal performance. If not using a stone, lightly grease your pan.
- Finely chop up the garlic and roughly chop your spinach (to make it more manageable). Grate the mozzarella if needed and crumble the feta cheese (keep cheeses separate).
- Flour your work surface well. Place one dough ball at a time and begin to pat down, adding flour as needed. Sprinkle on top and lightly pat, and add to dough as needed. Once you have patted the dough down to a small circle, you can continue to flip and pat down until you have reached an optimal size and thickness (always pat out, so that you end up with excess to form a crust).
- Using both hands, begin to make the crust, with one hand on the inside and one on the outside (if using a regular pan, form the crust in the pan). Now pinch the outside, to better form a crust. Sprinkle cornmeal all over your pan and place the dough on it. If using a preheated stone, some quick reshaping will be needed.
- Using a pastry brush, evenly spread 2 Tbsp olive oil all over the pizza, followed by the garlic. Place on the stone or pan, and in the pre-heated oven, par-cook the dough to get a better cooked dough (this step is optional).
- Let the dough slightly cook, until it just loses its floppiness and can be lifted off the stone, with a pizza peel or large spatula (this will only take a few minutes, especially on a pre-heated stone). You do not want the dough to start browning, so watch it carefully. Remove from the oven and carefully spread the remaining 1 Tbsp over the pizza with a pastry brush and then begin to top the pizza (You can leave the stone in the oven and lift the pizza out with a pizza peel).
- Evenly spread the spinach on the pizza, followed by the mozzarella and feta cheeses.
- Place back on the stone or pan, and back in the oven. Remove once the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Right before the pizza is done, I like taking it off of the stone for a few minutes and baking directly on the rack, just until the dough underneath is browned. Once done, remove from the oven or put under the broiler if you like more browning on the cheese. Slice and enjoy!
I am excited to bring my pizza to Fiesta Friday #163!
I just printed this recipe off and it’s going into my cookbook after I make it. I looks great. I’m going to add some artichoke hearts too. Forget the chicken I planned for tonight. We’re having pizza! Thanks for the recipe, Antonia.
That’s great Diana, I hope you enjoy it! Artichokes sound yummy! I would love to hear how you like it π Have a great day!
Miam! That dough looks so good! I’m printing this recipe too! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Deborah! I love a crunchy crust! Awesome, I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear π Have a fabulous day!
Happy early St. Patrick’s Day Antonia! I like the idea of using green in your pizza. Much better than green beer π I love that you have a winter garden that gives you spinach in March, what a treat!
Happy early St Patrick’s Day to you as well, Heather! Definitely better than green beer, but maybe not as much fun π We can keep it in the ground until it consistently gets in the mid to upper 70s. With this crazy cold snap, we were able to hold off pulling it up for a couple of weeks. I think we will have to pull it up by next week though. Have a great rest of your day!
Delicious pizza. I’m saving your recipe for the pizza dough it looks wonderful!!
Thank you Suzanne π That’s great, I hope you enjoy it! Have a wonderful rest of your day!
oh yumm!
Thank you Lynn! I hope you are having a nice day π
This sounds so yummy!
Thank you Annika! I hope you are having a nice day!
Definitely sounds like a winner! I may not be Greek but I love the spinach-feta combo…thanks for sharing Antonia!! π
Thanks Linda, it is a perfect combo! Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Super yummm Antonia π
Thank you! Happy St Patrick’s Day!
I absolutely love everything about this pizza ! I love love love feta and spinach, it is the best combo ever ! Have a great weekend π
Thank you so much Lynne! It is a wonderful combination. Happy St Patrick’s Day and I hope you have a great weekend too!
Fabulous stuff!! Happy St. Patrick’s day π
Thanks Freda! Happy Saturday and I hope you enjoyed your St Patrick’s Day π
What would we do without our pizzas! I need to eat vegetarian more often instead of adding some kind of meat…
So true π It is nice to add a little health to a pizza π Have a nice weekend!
I love everything about this pizza. It sounds delicious and know John and I would fight over the last piece!
Thank you so much Julie! Ha ha, it really is that good π Have a wonderful rest of your week!
I love anything with spinach…Looks so yumm,Antonia…..
Thank you Swapna! Enjoy your day π
This is the perfect pizza recipe, Zoale! I will definitely give it a try!
Thank you for the kind words Agness! I hope you enjoy it! Have a wonderful day π
Hi Antonia! This does look mouth watering!! And I’m with you on the combination of spinach and feta! We make pizza here pretty often– so I’m pinning this for when our kids come home in a couple weeks! You photos are great–make be want to have a piece right now!! Hope all’s well with you and your dar family… xo
Hi Rhonda, thank you! They are perfect together, aren’t they? Awesome, I hope you all enjoy it! It is, I hope everything is well with you and your family too. Happy Anniversary again!
Hi Antonia– went to the market yesterday– got the spinach and feta… We have our kids coming in this week so I’ll try it out on them. Let you know… xox
Hi Rhonda! That is so great! I hope you and your family enjoy it, and you have a great visit with your kids π
I’ll let you know… xo
cool, thanks! π
It is such a pleasure to read your post π
You are so sweet, thank you Inese! I’m sorry for the delayed response, I have been away from my computer for a few days π
Antonia, never too late. I am often away from computer myself.
Thanks Inese π Sometimes it is longer than I would like, but what can you do…
A fantastic looking pizza, Antonia, and perfect for St Patrick’s Day. I adore both feta and mozzarella cheese and love spinach, so it’s a great dish for all the family. We all love pizza!
Thank you so much Millie! Pizza is always good π I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
Great combination of cheeses. I love spinach.
Thank you Liz!
I am going to make this today or tomorrow. Will give you a feedback!
I am sorry for the delay in my responses Liz. That’s wonderful, I hope you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! π
I mde your lovely delicious home-made pizza & it was a very tasty pizza indeed! So fresh too!
That’s so awesome Sophie! I am glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for letting me know! Have a wonderful end to your week! π
Yes! This is my fav combo!
Mine too! π Have a great weekend!
You too! π
Thanks Krystina!
π