Chicago-Style Spinach Pizza
Tittle: Chicago Style Spinach Pizza
Cook time: 1 hour
Level: Medium
Serving: 6
Ingredients:
3/8 pound bulk Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 can (8-ounce size) pizza sauce
1/2 can (4-ounce size) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 package (3-ounce size) sliced pepperoni
1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil
1/2 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 loaf (16-ounce size) frozen whole wheat or white bread dough, thawed
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 package (10-ounce size) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 slightly beaten egg
1/2 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese
Directions:
For meat filling, in a large skillet cook Italian sausage and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender.
Drain fat. Pat with paper towels to remove additional fat. Stir in pizza sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, basil, oregano, and red pepper.
For crust, on a lightly floured surface roll two-thirds of the bread dough into a 12-inch circle. (If necessary, let dough rest once or twice during rolling.) Carefully place the circle in a greased 9-inch spring form pan, pressing the dough 1-1/2 inches up the sides.
Sprinkle bottom of the dough with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon meat filling over cheese. Pat spinach dry with paper towels. Mix spinach, egg, and remaining mozzarella cheese. Spread spinach mixture over meat filling. Roll remaining dough into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
Cut circle into 10 to 12 wedges. Arrange wedges atop spinach mixture, slightly overlapping edges and sealing ends to bottom crust along edge of pan. Brush top with melted margarine or butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a 375 F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until filling is hot and bread is done. If necessary, cover with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove sides of spring form pan. Cut into wedges.
Personal Suggestion: Nothing tasted better then a tradition “deep dish”. Chicago-style pizza is a deep-dish pizza style developed in Chicago. True Chicago-style pizza features a buttery crust, generous amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce. The Chicago-style “deep-dish” pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno, in Chicago in 1943, reportedly by Uno’s founder Ike Sewell, a former University of Texas football star. However, a 1956 article from the Chicago Daily News asserts that Uno’s original pizza chef Rudy Malnati developed the recipe.
