Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Spinach, Kale, and Garlic Pizza (and tips for making pizzas at home)

St. Patrick's day is over, are you sick of green yet? I hope not, but if you are, this spinach, kale, and garlic pizza might just change your mind. A pizza with a full serving of vegetables, you can't feel guilty about eating that! With kale featured in both the pesto and on top of the pizza, you get a double dose of super greens. Just don't be trying to kiss any vampires afterward, since garlic gives this pizza a kick! Add a soft-cooked egg on top, and you have a perfect vegetarian lunch or dinner.

Spinach, Kale, and Garlic Pizza - with Kale Pesto recipe

You can make this pizza using store-bought pizza dough, or make a batch of pizza dough at home ahead of time. (I hope to have a pizza dough tutorial up soon, I have a dear friend who is a "master pizza-man"- I have learned quite a few lessons from him.)

Some tips to making pizzas at home:
  • Go ahead and get yourself a pizza stone and a pizza peel. I found mine for about $15 each. They are a worthwhile investment for making pizzas, baguettes, or other crusty artisanal breads at home.
  • Use a hot oven. To get that authentic pizzeria crust, I crank my oven to 450-475. Make sure to place your pizza stone while the oven is cold to prevent cracking. Don't remove it from the oven until completely cooled. (I leave mine in overnight just to be safe.)
  • Prepare your dough ahead of time: Most pizza dough recipes can be made up to 2 days in advance and left to slowly rise in your refrigerator. It will result in a more tender, flavorful crust.
  • Mise en place! Just a fancy word for get organized. Set out your sauce, cheese and toppings so you can have a pizza factory. When we have pizza nights, I like to make three or four pizzas and let my family join in on the fun of assembling them. I put vegetable toppings on one large plate and meat toppings on another, that way you can mix or match and find new flavor combinations.
  • Balance is key: Don't overload your pizza with toppings. It will take longer to cook, resulting in a soggy crust.
  • Think outside the box. Feel free to "chef" it up at home! Some of my favorite pizzas have been complete originals when it comes to topping them.

Spinach, Kale, and Garlic Pizza
Makes one 12" pizza

Ingredients:
  • Pizza dough, homemade is best
  • Fresh mozzarella cheese-sliced and pressed between paper towels
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 2-3 cups baby spinach/baby kale mix (or equal parts of each)
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Basil-Kale Pesto, see below, or substitute in your favorite pesto
  • eggs, optional

Directions:
  1. Heat your oven. Make sure that it is really hot so you don't lose a lot of your heat when transferring your pizza into the oven.
  2. Stretch your dough into a disk, leaving a bit of a border around the outside. I always hand stretch it, so if it isn't a perfect circle, don't worry!
  3. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the sliced garlic, let sweat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add your spinach and kale, and let wilt down. Remove from heat.
  4. Spread a layer of pesto on the dough, then top with the sliced mozzarella.
  5. Squeeze out any moisture out of the spinach/kale/garlic, then evenly top your pizza.
  6. Grate a bit of parmesan over top, then bake until the crust is browned (10-15 minutes)
  7. Top with soft-cooked eggs and a bit more fresh parmesan, and enjoy!
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Basil-Kale Pesto
Makes about 2 cups

 
Ingredients:
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1 cup packed basil leaves
  • 1 cup kale, ribs removed
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

You can make a huge batch of this at the end of summer, and store in your freezer in zip-top bags to have home-made pesto year round.

Directions:
  1. Mince the garlic in the food processor with a pinch of salt.
  2. Add the lemon zest and pine nuts, basil and kale; pulse until ground into a paste. 
  3. While the machine is running, drizzle olive oil in until desired consistency.
  4. Season to taste with salt.
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15 comments:

  1. Thanks for linking up with us for Tasty Tuesday! What a unique way to make a pizza! I would like to try the egg on top but I am terrible at making eggs and mine would probably be a flop..lol

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    1. I think the easiest way to make soft-cooked eggs in a frying pan is to use a nonstick pan, get your eggs in and then splash a little water and cover just until the whites are set.
      Renee @ CreativeMamaMessyHouse

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  2. Found you on the link up- this looks so delicious and healthy! Thanks for sharing!
    Alicia @ www.adventuresatnaptime.com

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    1. It was really good! The runny yolk really made it luxurious, and you don't miss the meat!
      Renee @ CreativeMamaMessyHouse

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  3. I love making pizza at home! The pizza stone is definitely a must have. I just love the way the crust turns out on the stone. Another way I love making pizza at home is on the grill! It's a lot faster and tastes amazing.

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    1. Pizza on the grill is a must for summer, when the temps get too high to want to cook inside. Grilled nectarines, basil, mozzarella, and prosciutto... on a pizza crust... my mouth waters for summer!
      Renee @ CreativeMamaMessyHouse

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  4. Wow, I don't think it is for me, but I could see my husband loving this! Thanks for linking up with the Tasty Tuesday's Link-up. I have pinned your post to the Tasty's Tuesday's Pinterest Board!

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  5. This sounds delicious!

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

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  6. This looks goooood. I have been trying to get into kale more and I think I would eat it like this! Pinning!

    Thanks for linking up at Wordy Wednesday. :)

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    1. You can always start with baby kale or Tuscan (dinosaur) kale. They seem to be milder than the curly kale.

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  7. It's impossible to go wrong with homemade pizza - and love this combination of kale with soft-cooked eggs. This pizza has my name on it!

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  8. How funny we both made pizza for this week's made with love Monday! It's much more fun to make them yourself than waiting for the delivery driver, isn't it? Egg and spinach are my favourite toppings too. Although I do mine straight on the pizza, by making a little well in the toppings and cracking them on about half way through cooking. I'm lazy like that, but it works

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  9. I've never considered adding kale to my pesto recipe, but it sounds great. We make lots of homemade pizza around here, and I'll be giving this one a try. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Nobody can taste the kale in the pesto, and it's a great way to sneak a super food into something!

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  10. This looks yummy! I love pizza with spinach but I've never tried Kale! I will have to try it soon. I'm pinning this for later :)

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I love to hear your thoughts! I read each and every comment, so feel free to leave a comment at any time :)