Spinach Pizza

I first enjoyed this focaccia thirty years ago while I was staying with friends after I moved back east from California and started to look for a house. Since my search took far longer than expected, I enjoyed many dinners with them and their two children, both of whom often requested what they called “Spinach Pizza” from a local deli, aptly named “The Best of Everything.” We enjoyed one at least every other week. It was a thick rectangular pizza, with a layer of melted mozzarella covered with garlicy sautéed spinach and topped with marinated artichoke hearts and marinated roasted red pepper.

Thirty years later, with the children now on their own, we started to recall the “good old days” and I asked our friends if the spinach pizza was still available. Since they had moved from the town with deli years ago, they said they weren’t sure but would check it out. About two weeks after our nostalgic chat, our friends invited us over for dinner and lo and behold what was on the menu: the spinach pizza of yesteryear.

Soon after that dinner, my husband, who had recently taken up bread making as a hobby, suggested that we attempt to recreate the dish at home. Because of the amount of toppings, he thought a focaccia dough would make a better base than a pizza dough, especially in a home oven. He also felt that some of the flavors could be taken up a notch: the spinach spicier and more garlicky; the pizza richer, with more mozzarella complemented by some Romano; and while at it why not add more artichokes and roasted peppers. For the dough, he chose the “Fluffy Focaccia” recipe from Tiffany Dahle’s The Ultimate Bread-Machine Cookbook. (The recipe is also available in her website here.)

We invited our friends over for the “new and improved” version of the spinach pizza and we had at least equaled if not surpassed the original.

Spinach Pizza (adapted from a focaccia recipe by Tiffany Dahle’s The Ultimate Bread-Machine Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons room-temperature water
2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups + 2 tablespoons (428 g) bread flour
½ teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons dried Italian-herb blend
½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon yeast

Toppings:

4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
3 cups grated whole-milk salted mozzarella
¼ cup pecorino Romano cheese
20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and sautéed in garlic and olive oil with crushed red-pepper flakes (See Note below.)
9 halved marinated artichoke hearts
9 ¼-inch slices of marinated roasted red peppers
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Note: For the spinach, microwave the spinach for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach becomes soft. Wrap the softened spinach in a clean dish towel and over the sink, squeeze the water out of the spinach. You could also use several paper towels in lieu of the dish towel, but do so over a colander lest the paper towels tear.

Meanwhile, mince 3 large cloves of garlic. Heat 3 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic along with ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and sauté just until fragrant. Add the spinach to the pan, and sauté for 2 minutes.

Directions:

1. Add the ingredients to the bread machine’s baking pan in the order listed, starting with the water and ending with the yeast.

2. Choose the “Dough” program, or the equivalent on your machine, and press Start.

3. When the dough cycle is finished, remove the dough from the bread pan and place it on a 9- x 13-inch rimmed sheet pan pan brushed with 2 generous tablespoons of olive oil. Punch the dough down to deflate it, turn it over, and spread the oil evenly. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

4. Stretch the dough to form a 9- x 13-inch rectangle.

5. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for 40 – 50 minutes. It should puff up evenly but not quite double in size.

6. Pour 2 generous tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough and use your fingers to rub it all over the surface. Gently press your fingertips into the top to make ½-inch deep dimple-like indentations roughly 1 inch apart, all across the top.

7. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella evenly over the top of the dough, followed by a sprinkling of the Romano.

8. Using your hands, distribute the spinach evenly over the cheese.

9. Next, distribute the artichokes and roasted red peppers evenly over the spinach.

10. Finally, sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over the toppings.

11. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. You may want to turn the focaccia mid-way through. Keep an eye on it for the last few minutes to avoid burning.