Pizza: spinach

Pizza: spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust large
• 2 cups of any pasta sauce of your choice
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese(any pizza blend will do)
• 1/2 cup of shredded pepper jack, Colby, cheddar or any combination of shredded cheeses
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated or powder
• 1/2 lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed  or 4 cups of tightly packed fresh spinach finely chopped and rinsed
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 clove crushed garlic(optional)
• 1 tsp of freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp of Italian spices (any kind)
• 1 tsp of rasam or chilli powder (optional)
• 4 tbs of olive oil

Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Squeeze out  most of the water from the thawed or rinsed spinach. In a pan saute garlic and onion in 2 tbs of oil on medium heat  Add and cook spinach on medium heat till the spinach is nicely wilted and pretty dry, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add 3/4 tsp of the Italian spices, 3/4 tsp pepper, 3/4 tsp of rasam  or chilli powder, 1 tsp salt to the cooked spinach and mix it in.Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

Smear olive oil on both sides of the pizza crust and place it on a slotted pizza baking pan. Spread the pasta sauce generously on top of the oiled pizza crust. Sprinkle 1/4  tsp of rasam powder.  Then top the pizza crust with the cheeses generously, covering the whole crust thoroughly. Layer the cooked spinach evenly on top of the cheeses. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and the remaining spices, pepper and the rasam powder on top. Bake for 15 minutes or so till the cheeses are melted and slightly browned and the crust looks toasted. Remove from oven and slide the pizza onto a large cutting board. Cut into into 8 or so wedge shaped pieces and serve .

Cooking tips:

Also, tear a few fresh basil leaves and spread on top for a distinct flavor. You can vary the amount of sauce, toppings, spices and cheeses you use on the pizza. Can also saute mushrooms, tomatoes and use as add on toppings. Just plain sliced green and/or black olives, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, can also be added  as topping without sauteing them.

Substitute broccoli for spinach. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp salt and 2 cups of bite sized broccoli florette's to the boiling water. Cook the broccoli for 1 minute and drain all the water and set aside. Then, follow all the steps above used to make the spinach pizza.

Serving tips:

Serve with salad and garlic bread.