Thursday, June 30, 2011

Greek Pizza


If you like your veggies and well, feta cheese,then you will love this pizza. My hubby declared it the best Pizza he ever had.  I eat up comments like that!  It's taken me a while to perfect my Pizza crust.  I know how to get the perfect crust everytime...finally.  I like my crust not to thin, crispy on the bottom but still soft when you bite into it.  Feel free to use your own recipe or give mine a try.  I use my kitchen aid for the whole process, but you can easily do it by hand.  Just mix in enough flour by hand to make kneading easier and then keep adding flour as you need to acheive desired consistency.

For the Crust:
1 Cup of warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 Packet of yeast
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 tsp of salt
About 3 1/2 cups of flour

Combine water and yeast until foamy.  Next add the olive oil and salt along with 2 1/2 cups of flour.  Stir for about 1 minute until combined.  Keep adding flour until you have pliable dough...not to sticky and not to stiff.  Grease a bowl (I keep mine right in the kitchen-aid bowl) and turn dough once to coat.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Once your dough has doubled, preheat oven to 450.

Punch down the dough and let rest for just a minute or two.  For this pizza I use a square pan (15x10).  I like to spray my pan with just a bit of cooking spray and then sprinkle on some corn meal.  Using your HANDS spread the dough out...this should be easy since the dough is so pliable.  Now it's time to assemble the toppings.

You will need:
Alfredo sauce
Fresh parm.cheese
Fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced
Onion
Green Pepper
Black olives
Spinach (fresh or frozen that had been thawed and drained
Feta
Garlic salt

The reason there are no exact measurements is because you really can use as much or little as you want.  Start by spreading some Alfredo sauce over the crust. Use as much or little as you want...keep in mind you don't want soggy crust.  I used a thin layer for mine.  Sprinkle some parm. cheese over the alfredo.
After you've added the parm., throw some spinach on. Spread a single layer of tomatoes over the entire pizza.  Set aside for just a moment.  Now throw some onions, green pepper and olives in a pan with olive oil.  Over high heat saute unil crisp tender.  I like to let mine sit a few minutes before I stir them, gives the veggies that nice "blackened" look which makes the pizza look rustic.  Once those veggies are done, throw them on top of the tomatoes.  Now sprinkle the feta over all.  Throw on a little more parm. if you like along with a sprinkle of garlic salt.  Now put the pizza in the oven on the lowest rack and cook for about 13-15 minutes.  The feta doesn't melt entirely so go more by the crust.  I sometimes take a spatula to lift up the pizza so I can check the crust to make sure it's crispy...but again...depends on your personal preference.
Remove from the oven and let sit about 5 minutes before cutting.  Dig in and don't forget to SHARE:)

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