Last week was an exciting one: my coworker S’s girlfriend E was in town, which meant a night of boardgaming and nerding out was absolutely in order. S suggested we make this fantastic deep-dish spinach pizza (of which, as it was topped high with bell peppers, I have lengthened the name) and it turned out to be quite delicious, indeed. S and I joined E in preparing the dough around noon. After a few attempts to activate the yeast (tricky little thing) we finally got it right. A note on that: follow the yeast packet (if using packet yeast) for instructions regarding the amount of water, not the recipe. The original recipe called for so much water that the yeast was having trouble bubbling. S also deigned to use measuring cups and spoons, which are quite necessary for the exact nature of baking doughs!
E expertly kneaded the dough and supervised its rising during the afternoon. Then, later that evening, the boyfriend and I joined them and we together made the pizza: the boyfriend kneaded and rolled out the dough (using S’s high-tech rolling pin (the vodka bottle)); E handled the tomato sauce; I cooked the spinach and assembled; and S cut the vegetables and grated the cheeses. Three cheers for teamwork!
Deep-Dish Spinach & Bell Pepper Pizza
Following the Deep-Dish Spinach Pizza recipe from RecipeZaar
What really makes the taste of this so wonderful are, in my opinion, the fresh basil leaves. Rosemary, I know you’re commonly called the most fragrant herb, but I’ll take basil over you almost any day :)
Getting this out of the springform pan was a snap- using it makes this incredibly simple. I am tempted to make a flat, thin pizza (preferably Margherita, my favourite) but for deep-dish, you can’t beat the springform. The edges were a bit temperamental when cutting (cracked more easily than usual, S noted) but the taste was fantastic. And what’s quite surprising is that despite being very thin, the dough is very resilient- in fact, only half the dough is used in the recipe. The rest can be stored and used later, or will serve for making two pizzas at once (or perhaps covering it, making it an actual ‘pizza pie’?). Whatever you choose to do with the second half of the dough, this pizza is sure to please. Yum!
This looks delicious!
Did you drink Skyy Vodka with your pizza? I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, that would make for some fun board-gaming!