Pizza by Anna

When our sister Anna visited last September she made a yummy spinach and tomato pizza for a quick lunch. We asked her for the recipe and she gave us her favorites. Here we go! It's a perfect Friday night meal! Happy l-o-n-g weekend everyone!

Pizza by Anna
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Okay, so for my pizza making. I usually use a store-bought crust because I don't get home from work until around 6:30 and don't want to wait for crust to raise. But I love homemade pizza crust, so... I found this recipe for a dough that doesn't really need to rise. There is some room for improvement - mostly in our method - but overall it was a success!

Crust:
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
oregano, basil, garlic
cornmeal
In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, oil and chopped herbs. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and pat or roll into  round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Bake in oven until just starting to bubble. Remove from oven and brush with olive oil before adding desired toppings. Bake directly on rack after adding toppings.

While Jared was mixing the yeast with the water I started on the sauce... ingredients below.

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sugar
red pepper flakes (optional)
Saute the onion in about a tablespoon of olive oil until translucent and tender. Add the garlic and saute just a minute or so until the garlic is fragrant (careful - it burns fast!). Stir in tomato sauce, paste, salt, garlic powder, sugar, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. Allow to simmer a few minutes and then remove from heat while you prepare the pizza dough.

We made two pizzas last night using the same dough and sauce. We doubled the dough recipe and spread equal parts on two baking sheets. We went square to maximize the space (they were about 12x12in) and baked the dough, on the baking sheets, at 450º until they just started to bubble. Then we removed them from the oven, added toppings (see below) and placed them back in the oven to finish but this time they went directly on the rack for nice crispy crust!

Pizza Margherita:
thinly sliced tomatoes
fresh mozzarella cheese
fresh basil
Prepare crust as directed, spread with sauce and layer tomatoes, cheese and basil. Bake until crust browns and cheese is melted.

Jared loves this pizza - and it's so easy. We have a tiny terra cotta garden in our backyard so are fortunate enough to just walk out back and grab basil and throw it on the pizza, but fresh basil is definitely a must here!



Veggie Pizza:
thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced green bell pepper
sliced mushrooms
pineapple
Prepare crust as directed, spread with sauce and spread ingredients over top. Bake until crust browns and veggies are slightly tender.

I think one of the reasons I like making my own pizza so much is because I get some really strange looks when I order pizza without cheese at a restaurant. Yeah, I'm sure you're thinking the same thing. However, put enough sauce and veggies on the crust and you may not even miss the cheese! Sometimes I throw vegan mozzarella on but honestly, most days I prefer just the sauce and veggies.



Spinach and Tomato Pizza:
fresh spinach leaves
sliced tomatoes
sliced mushrooms
Prepare crust as directed, spread with sauce and spread ingredients over top. Bake until crust browns and veggies are hot.