Basil & Spinach Pizza

[David M. Bueker]

Last night I made what has become my signature dish. I used to call it faux-Pesto pizza, but that sounded too weird. It is really pretty much that though, but here's what I do:

I make a pizza dough with about 1/3 whole wheat to 2/3 white flour. Spread on a sheet pan & pre-bake until just starting to brown.

I then top the pizza with very scant red sauce, then a layer of baby spinach, an entire layer of fresh basil leaves and then the cheese blend of choice (I use a blend of cheddar, jack and mozzarella). I then liberally cover the cheese with fresh, chopped garlic and pine nuts. Bake it all until bubbling and slightly brown, cool, cut and serve.

It's a great pizza for red wine, but don't get a white within 100 miles of it.

i love the way the flavors of basil and spinach combine. my favorite spinach dish is to wilt the spinach after spinning it nearly dry. i chop it roughly and saute in olive oil and garlic and at the end add a few leaves of basil - enough to give a slight flavor but not quite enough to tell what that flavor is.

And when will you be making this again, and what time is dinner? I'll bring the wine.

I make homemade pizza about twice a month, and I think I will try this next time. Thanks for posting it, David.

[David M. Bueker]

The next time is likely the night before Thanksgiving.

That just happens to fit perfectly in my schedule! You can e-mail me the directions.

w00t!

Thanks for posting the recipe as promised, David! You left several of us in Sunday Chat wishing we were joining you for dinner! Oh, and David C. I am sooo with you on your preparation of spinach...simply FANTASTIC!

It sounds like a great pizza idea.

I don't bake pizza nearly as often anymore as in years past, but for what it's worth, there is an authentic Italian pizzeria that I order from that has all manner of what your typical fast-food folks would call "weird" pizzas - everything from spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to feta cheese and artichokes. In other words, the real sort of ingredients that chains don't normally bother with.

I also favour pairing such pizzas with reds. A dry white would still be okay with me, though; it's pizza and beer that I don't get.

[David M. Bueker]

I also favour pairing such pizzas with reds. A dry white would still be okay with me, though; it's pizza and beer that I don't get.

That's strictly for a plain pepperoni pizza in my book

it's pizza and beer that I don't get.

It's anything and beer that I don't get. But perhaps that's because I don't drink beer.