Spinach Feta Pizza

Homemade pizza makes a frequent appearance on our monthly dinner menu.  Sometimes we have it weekly, but usually once every two weeks.  Rarely do we go an entire month with homemade pizza just once.



For several years now I've been making this pizza dough recipe.  It's simple and not fussy.  Although I usually need more flour than what the recipe calls for, but I figure that's due to the humid climate we live in.  Gotta love a temperate rain forest! :) And recently I started adding about 1/8 cup of granulated sugar to the dough when I mix in the flour.  It's a little trick I picked up from my sister and it seems to yield a crispier and airier crust.

Up until about two years ago, I don't remember ever eating feta cheese.  If I did, it must have been in something at a restaurant or that someone else prepared.  Now, I love the stuff and regularly add it to scrambled eggs and salad.  We also almost always have a container of it in the fridge.  Back when I first tried feta, I bought a big block of it at costco for some reason (probably to try a new recipe).  It was much cheaper to buy it in bulk and I split it with my sister-in-law, so I couldn't resist the huge warehouse store quantity.  But even with sharing it, I still had a lot to use.  So I started searching for other recipes with feta cheese involved to use up my large supply.  That's when I stumbled upon this pizza recipe.

I've made this pizza pretty regularly since and it has become our favorite.  The kids aren't crazy about it, but Shawn and I love it. And since the pizza dough recipe I use makes enough for two medium pizzas, I make a cheese pizza for the kids and this for Shawn and I.  Then everyone's happy and we have leftovers.  Yeah!
Another interesting thing about this pizza is there's no tomato based pizza sauce.  Just a sprinkling of minced garlic.  And the funny thing is, we don't miss it one bit. This pizza is really great even without what's usually a standard part of most pizzas.

I've made a few changes to the recipe over the years, but I've stuck pretty close to the original recipe that I found on allrecipes.  Another topping addition that would be nice would be sliced cherry tomatoes or olives.  If you're into olives that is, cause I'm not.

If you give this a try, I hope you enjoy this pizza.  We sure do.

Spinach Feta Pizza
makes one medium sized pizza
adapted from all recipes

1/2 of Jay's Signature Pizza dough recipe

2-3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 clove), more if desired.

1 clove or up to 1 teaspoon minced garlic (or more)
1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt or granulated garlic
2 cups of fresh spinach, stems removed if desired
1/2 red onion, sliced into rings
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2-1 teaspoon of dried basil

Prepare pizza dough as directed in recipe.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough into 12 inch circle.  Place on pizza stone or pan and let rest while preparing the toppings, about 10-20 minutes.

Combine melted butter with 1 teaspoon or clove of minced garlic.  Brush butter garlic mixture onto crust edges and toward center if there's extra.  Sprinkle center of crust with additional clove or teaspoon of minced garlic and the granulated garlic or garlic salt.  Top with spinach, onion, mushrooms, and both cheeses.  Finally sprinkle with dried basil.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes (sometimes ours takes 25-28 minutes) or until cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.  Let stand a few minutes before slicing.
Enjoy.

If you try this recipe, I'd love to hear how it turned out.  And I apologize for the less than fabulous pictures.  It was all I could get before we dove into the pizza. :)