Friday has been pizza night for Eric & I since our college days. Waaay back then, we would order a spinach & feta cheese pizza (sometimes with jalapenos, as well) from Domino’s. Once we were married, we started making our own pizzas instead of ordering out, and we varied the toppings.

Over the past month, we’ve gone back to the classic date night pizza toppings that we enjoyed so long ago. With a few updates. Andrew’s gift to Eric a few years ago was The Pizza Bible by Tony Gemignani. Eric uses the pizza dough recipe from that cookbook. On advice gleaned from The Pizza Bible, plain tomato sauce is spread on the dough first, then the desired toppings, and the cheese is the last thing to go on the pizza before it is placed in the oven. We use a combination of shredded provolone and shredded mozzarella on the pizza, with more provolone than mozzarella. Dried basil and oregano top the pizza off after it comes out of the oven. TGIF!

Spinach & Feta Pizza (an original recipe by Eric A. Heuser) Total Time Required: 40 minutes, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 15 minutes, Rest Time: 5 minutes, Makes: 1 14-inch pizza, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces pizza dough, homemade or store bought, at room temperature
• flour and corn meal
• splash of olive oil
  
• 4 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, and the liquid squeezed out
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 6 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1.5 ounces feta cheese
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced (optional)
• 2.5 ounces shredded provolone cheese
• 1.5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• dried oregano and basil, option

Directions:

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 490ºF.

Splash a bit of olive oil in a sauté pan and add the thawed and drained spinach. Sauté the spinach for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute more. Remove the pan from the heat and set the spinach mixture aside.

On a well-floured work surface, stretch out the dough into a 14-inch circle.

Sprinkle a pizza peel generously with corn meal and transfer the dough to the peel.

Spread the sauce onto the dough. Layer the spinach on the sauce, then add the feta cheese.

Cover the sauce, spinach, feta, and jalapeno, if using, with the provolone and mozzarella cheeses.

Slide the pizza from the peel to the preheated pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 7 minutes. Using the peel, turn the pizza 180º on the stone and bake for 5 – 6 minutes more, to the desired doneness. Remove the pizza from the stone in the oven using the peel. Allow the pizza to rest on the peel for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the pizza with basil and oregano, if desired. Cut into 8 slices and serve.

Spinach & feta on our weekly pizza is a welcome throwback!  ~Linda

Spinach & Feta Pizza (an original recipe by Eric A. Heuser) Total Time Required: 40 minutes, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 15 minutes, Rest Time: 5 minutes, Makes: 1 14-inch pizza, Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces pizza dough, homemade or store bought, at room temperature
• flour and corn meal
• splash of olive oil
• 4 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, and the liquid squeezed out
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 1.5 ounces feta cheese
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced (optional)
• 2.5 ounces shredded provolone cheese
• 1.5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• dried oregano and basil, option

Directions:

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 490ºF.

Splash a bit of olive oil in a sauté pan and add the thawed and drained spinach. Sauté the spinach for 2 – 3 minutes, then add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute more. Remove the pan from the heat and set the spinach mixture aside.

On a well-floured work surface, stretch out the dough into a 14-inch circle. Sprinkle a pizza peel generously with corn meal and transfer the dough to the peel.

Spread the sauce onto the dough. Layer the spinach on the sauce, then add the feta cheese. Cover the sauce, spinach, feta, and jalapeno, if using, with the provolone and mozzarella cheeses.

Slide the pizza from the peel to the preheated pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 7 minutes. Using the peel, turn the pizza 180º on the stone and bake for 5 – 6 minutes more, to the desired doneness. Remove the pizza from the stone in the oven using the peel. Allow the pizza to rest on the peel for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the pizza with basil and oregano, if desired. Cut into 8 slices and serve.