spinach and artichoke pan pizza
Over the pandemic, I quietly broke up with every pizza dough recipe I’ve shared to date. I know I have some nerve only telling you this now. The family wanted pizza for dinner weekly, and I was overdue for a homemade pizza reckoning. Why? Because after years of trying to get my home oven even half as hot as the ones at pizzerias that crank out gloriously blistered and glistening pies, and too often ending up with disappointing textures, I finally realized I was chasing the wrong pizza dream. Instead of fighting an uphill battle, I replaced my usual pizza dough with a no-knead focaccia-ish dough that bakes up beautifully in a regular oven, perfectly every single time.
The crust is tender and stretchy with deeply golden and crisp olive oil edges. A longer bake time allows the toppings to brown and blister without burning the whole pizza. Plus, it holds toppings, even a generous amount of toppings, like a charm, without them collapsing the dough or causing watery puddles. From here the fun began with everything from the The Angry Grandma (Pizza) in Smitten Kitchen Keepers, my third cookbook, to this.
A couple weeks ago, I spotted a gorgeous spinach and artichoke pizza with spinach pesto, artichoke hearts, and a blistered and blissful amount of cheese on Notfolu’s Instagram [oh and please don’t miss her snacks newsletter either] and could think about nothing else until I made it myself. Like previous times when I’ve been enthralled enough by a photo enough to chase it, I didn’t have a recipe to work from, I just played around until I made a pizza that tasted as good as the photo looked to me. I love the classic spinach and artichoke combination, but even more so when it’s not swallowed up by a vat of cream and cheese — here, you can actually taste the vegetables too. But nothing could have prepared me for my son choosing it over the classic tomato-cheese pie I also made, and declaring that “if Joe’s had this by the slice, I’d get it every time.” Joe, call me!
Previously
6 months ago: Simple Eggplant Parmesan
1 year ago: Carrot Cake with Coconut and Dates
2 years ago: Lemon Cream Meringues
3 years ago: Lemon Potatoes
4 years ago: Ultimate Banana Bread
5 year ago: Essential French Onion Soup
6 years ago: Asparagus and Egg Salad with Walnuts and Mint
7 years ago: Cornbread Waffles and Mushroom Tartines
8 years ago: Sesame Soba and Ribboned Omelet Salad and Apricot Hazelnut Brown Butter Hamantaschen
9 years ago: The Consolation Prize (A Mocktail) and Baked Chickpeas with Pita Chips and Yogurt
10 years ago: Whole-Grain Cinnamon Swirl Bread
11 years ago: Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini
12 years ago: Soft Eggs with Buttery Herb-Gruyere Toast Soldiers
13 years ago: Spaetzle
14 years ago: Irish Soda Bread Scones and Spinach and Chickpeas
15 years ago: Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Sauce and Bialys
16 years ago: Caramel Walnut Banana Upside Down Cake and Swiss Easter Rice Tart
17 years ago: Mixed Berry Pavlova
Spinach and Artichoke Pan Pizza
This pizza dough is adapted from a focaccia dough, and my favorite comes from Alexandra Stafford. I wrote about the focaccia in her first book in 2018. Guess what? Next Tuesday, her second cookbook, Pizza Night, comes out and it’s all about pizza — pizza for home cooks without special equipment. I’m wildly excited about it. You should order yourself a copy.
Note: I almost always double the dough and make two pizzas at once, because any leftovers reheat fantastically, but wrote this recipe for just one. You’ll have enough spinach pesto for two pizzas, however. I’ve spread extra on a thick slice of toasted sourdough and covered it with a cloud of microplane-d parmesan (like I had at Sailor a couple weeks ago).
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I use Diamond brand kosher salt; use half of other brands)
- 1 cup lukewarm water (100° to 115°F)
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) olive oil
- 2 thick or 3 thin scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces (115 grams) spinach leaves, baby spinach is fine
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Olive oil
- 1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and patted dry
- Zest and juice from half a lemon
- 6 ounces (170 grams) mozzarella, diced from a block or perlini (as shown here)
- 1/2 cup (45 grams) grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup (55 grams) grated fontina or asiago cheese
Dough
Spinach Pesto
Assembly
Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and olive oil and use a spoon or dough whisk (I have this one) to bring it together, stirring the mixture a few times to ensure there are no unmixed pockets of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles and moves a lot when jiggled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at room temperature. If you won’t need the dough until later, you can transfer it to the fridge a little before it’s fully doubled and let it finish there for a few hours or overnight.
Assemble the pizza: Heat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Coat a 12-inch (30-cm) round cast-iron skillet or a 9×13 cake pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Scrape dough into the pan, then turn it over once so it’s oiled on both sides. Dip your fingers in the oil to coat them and dimple the dough out to the edges as best as you can; it’s okay if it doesn’t fully stretch at this point. Set it aside, loosely covered, for 30 minutes to finish proofing.
Meanwhile, make the spinach pesto: In a food processor or high-speed blender, combine the scallions and garlic. Add spinach and pulse the machine until it’s well-chopped. Drizzle in olive oil until the mixture looks thick but loosened — usually it needs 4 to 6 tablespoons. Season well with salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
To assemble: Being careful not to deflate the dough, use oiled fingers to gently dimple the dough out to the edges of the pan if it’s not there already. Spoon half of the spinach pesto mixture over the dough, and use the back of the spoon to gently spread it out. The toppings should go all the way to the pan’s edge when making this pizza, i.e. do not leave an empty border. Arrange the artichoke hearts over the spinach pesto, then finely grate some of the lemon zest over. Sprinkle mozzarella, parmesan, and fontina, then season the pizza with salt, red pepper flakes, and a little more lemon zest.
Bake the pizza: For 25 to 30 minutes, until deeply golden brown at the edges and toasty on top. Yes, this baking time and temperature is correct. It sounds very long but I’ve made a hundred of these pizzas and always regret when I take it out before 30 minutes, as the edges have a less satisfying crunch.
To serve: Finish with lemon juice. You can serve it right in the pan, but I prefer to protect my knives and loosen the pizza from the pan and slide it onto a cutting board before cutting it into wedges or squares.
Do ahead: Leftovers reheat fantastically. I heat leftover slices on a foil-covered sheet pan at 350°F or 375°F for 15 minutes. Leftover spinach pesto keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge.
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