Hi everyone, Chef Piet here. I hope you has had a great holiday season so far. I know I have enjoyed some time off, after finishing an exhausting semester of grad school. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to the new year and making it one that revolves around healthy living and lots of wonderful home cooked meals.
Today’s recipe is for a homemade pizza. I figure, it would be a nice break from all the large holiday meals that this season has brought. This is a heart healthy version and as good as pizza can be. Once you have the dough recipe down, you make make endless variations. It is delicious and easy to make. So lets go to it! Ingredients:
Makes 2 pizzas, serves 4
Recipes follow:
- 2 whole wheat pizza dough balls, rolled out and transferred to lightly greased cookie sheets
- 1 cup walnut pesto
- 8 oz fresh low fat ricotta cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup caramelized onions
- 2 T shredded parmesan cheese
- Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
While you are at it, you might as well make your own Ricotta cheese,
Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with both racks in the center most positions. Take one of the cookie sheets with rolled out pizza dough and spread 1/2 walnut pesto into a thin layer over dough. Be sure to leave an outer lip of 1 inch all the way around. In this order, top with 1/2 of spinach, 1/2 ricotta and 1/2 caramelized onions. Repeat with second cookie sheet and other rolled out pizza dough.
Put cookie sheets into oven, one on each rack. After, 5 minutes, switch the cookie sheets to the other rack. Cook another 4-5 minutes until dough is nicely browned. All ovens cook differently, so use your best judgement. Sometimes it may take a little longer or shorter to cook, depending on how thin the dough is rolled out to. Another way to check for doneness is to use a spatula to carefully lift up pizza. If the underside is also browned and crisp, it is done.
Sprinkle each pizza with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and add red pepper flakes to taste (optional). Transfer to a firm surface and cut into slices.
Enjoy!
Chef Piet,