SPINACH & ARTICHOKE PIZZA

Uncategorized by Cafe Christina

When I think of spinach and artichoke, my mind automatically sprints towards the ever so creamy and cheesy spinach & artichoke dip. Packed with multiple cheeses, onions, garlic, spinach and artichokes. All mixed together and baked till bubbly and warm. You get a flavor bomb in each bite. Salty and creamy perfection. What’s not to love right? This is definitely one of my favorites dips to whip up for family or a party. Easy and quick to make…and not to mention everyone loves it.

A friend of mine mentioned to me this delicious spinach and artichoke pizza she once had at a restaurant in NYC. It was “the best thing ever”, she said. I love to bring non-traditional items together and throw them on a pizza. Shrimp scampi pizza to buffalo chicken pizza. You name it, I’ve tried it. So I did a little experimenting and came up with a spinach and artichoke pizza of my own. The base of the pizza is of course the crust…and in my opinion…the most important part of the pizza. A good crust has a lot of elements that go into it.

The temperature the pizza is cooked at… changes everything. For a traditional Neapolitan pizza crust, look no further than my NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH. I use 00 flour and few other ingredients to make a light and airy crust with a crispy outer layer. I use my OONI PIZZA OVEN (linked below) that reaches up to 930 degrees F and will cook a pizza in 60 seconds.

Purchasing the 00 flour and the pizza oven is worth the splurge, trust me. It changed the way I made pizza at home and made the whole experience a little more fun. Who doesn’t love a pizza party right? It’s fun to let everyone try their hand at creating their own pizza for dinner. Lay out an array of toppings and sauces and let your guests go wild. It’s a fun thing that both adults and kids can get excited about. My almost 4 year old son loves pizza night and overseeing all the steps it takes to make his favorite cheese pizza.

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All the things you need for a pizza night at home:

NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH

CLICK TO PURCHASE ITEMS BELOW:

SPINACH & ARTICHOKE PIZZA

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Total time: 2-12 hours (see pizza dough recipe)

Serves: 2 medium artichoke pizzas (be aware you will have more dough leftover if using my Neapolitan pizza dough recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp yellow onion, minced
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup quartered artichokes, drained and diced small
  • 1 cup fresh spinach, diced small
  • 1-2 cups mozzarella, shredded
  • 1/2 yellow onion, paper thin long slices
  • Parmesan cheese for topping
  • Red pepper flakes for topping
  • Dried oregano for topping

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Make pizza dough (see my recipe: NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH)
  2. Heat a small pan to medium low heat. Add in butter, onion and garlic. Sauté for a few minutes until the onions start to sweat and become translucent. Add in the flour and cook for an additional minute until the flour becomes slightly golden in color.
  3. Add in milk and heavy cream. Whisk until the mixture becomes thick. Add in cream cheese, salt and pepper. Whisk till the cream cheese is melted and mixture is thick and creamy. Turn off heat and set aside.
  4. If using an oven, preheat (with a pizza stone inside) to 550 degrees F (or as hot as oven allows). If using an Ooni pizza oven, preheat on high for 25-30 minutes or until temperature registers over 900 degrees F.
  5. Stretch out your pizza dough until about 8-10 inches in width. Sprinkle a small amount of corn meal on a pizza peel and place the dough on top. This will allow the dough to slide onto the pizza stone easily. Add on a layer of the white sauce. Followed by spinach, onion, artichokes and mozzarella cheese.
  6. Slide pizza onto the pizza stone in the oven and cook until the cheese is bubbling, bottom is slightly crisp and crust of golden in color. (Ooni oven: 1-2 minutes….Regular oven: 8ish minutes).
  7. Top with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and dried oregano.
  8. Repeat until all the dough is used. (You can also wrap the extra dough in plastic wrap and ziplock bag and place in fridge for up to 2 days.)

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