Post by linda on Aug 13, 2005 12:40:56 GMT -5
I spent two years in Chicago. The one thing I loved was spinach pizza from Giordano's. My brother sent me "The Great Chicago-Style Pizza Cookbook. This recipe is so good that this is our "special occassion" meal that we use for holidays.
A few hints that save a great deal of time and frustration:
If you have a breadmaker, make the dough in it.
Buy the spinach already washed and packaged. You will use about half of one of those big sacks of spinach they sell at Costco. You want to really heap up the spinach because it is going to collapse during the cooking process.
Don't grate mozzarella cheese in your food processor unless you have a very heavy-duty model. Buy the cheese already grated and save the repair bill.
We like lots of garlic--and grow our own. So we use more garlic than the recipe calls for. I used chopped garlic.
STUFFED SPINACH PIZZA
GIORDANO’S PIZZA RESTAURANT, CHICAGO, IL
Equipment
Measuring cups and spoons
2 large mixing bowls (or one bowl and one automatic breadmaker)
Cheese grater
Rolling pin
12-inch pizza pan, 2 inches deep (commercial cake pan or cast iron skillet)
Dough
3 teaspoons sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water (105-115 ° F)
3 ¼ cups (more or less) bromated bread flour
3 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sauce (best if prepared several hours or the day before)
2 cans of chunk-style tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 large clove of garlic, or several small ones, crushed
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Stuffing
About 3 heads of fresh spinach
12 ounces grated mozzarella cheese or more
DOUGH: Easy way—put all ingredients into an automatic breadmaker, set the cycle for pizza dough, and take it out in an hour. If you have to do it by hand….. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Set aside. Mix flour and salt in a large 4-5 quart mixing bowl.
Make a well in the flour; add the yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until a rough mass of dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface; knead for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Dust with flour if the dough sticks to your hands. Dust the dough lightly with flour; place it in a lightly floured mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set it in a warm place to rise for 1-1 ½ hours, until doubled in bulk.
Punch down the dough; turn it out onto a work surface and knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into two pieces—1 slightly larger. Roll out the larger piece for the bottom layer of dough until it is about 3 inches larger than the pan and is about ¼ to 1/8 inch thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the bottom layer of dough in the pan; push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 1 inch. (Since the dough does not usually cooperate this well, just stretch it over the pan and allow the filling to force it to conform to the shape of the pan.)
STUFFING: Wash the spinach thoroughly and dry it completely. Remove the stems. Chop or tear the leaves into pieces no larger than about an inch. In a 2-3 quart mixing bowl, you can combine the spinach and the grated cheese. Or, you can just layer the spinach and the cheese in the pizza pan over the bottom layer of dough. If you choose that option, start with a layer of spinach and make sure you have a layer of cheese on the very top.
SAUCE: Drain all the liquid from the tomatoes, then crush them in a strainer to remove all excess moisture. Chop or crush the garlic and mix everything together and let it set for a few hours or overnight, if time allows.
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Preheat the oven to 450°. Put the spinach and cheese mixture into the pan. Heap it up, it will collapse when cooking. Lay the second piece of dough over the spinach-cheese mixture. Crimp the 2 edges of dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand. Cut a 1-inch slit in the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the top crust.
Bake the pizza in the preheated oven. Put it on the lowest rack for about 10 minutes. Then move it up about 2 slots and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.
ENJOY
A few hints that save a great deal of time and frustration:
If you have a breadmaker, make the dough in it.
Buy the spinach already washed and packaged. You will use about half of one of those big sacks of spinach they sell at Costco. You want to really heap up the spinach because it is going to collapse during the cooking process.
Don't grate mozzarella cheese in your food processor unless you have a very heavy-duty model. Buy the cheese already grated and save the repair bill.
We like lots of garlic--and grow our own. So we use more garlic than the recipe calls for. I used chopped garlic.
STUFFED SPINACH PIZZA
GIORDANO’S PIZZA RESTAURANT, CHICAGO, IL
Equipment
Measuring cups and spoons
2 large mixing bowls (or one bowl and one automatic breadmaker)
Cheese grater
Rolling pin
12-inch pizza pan, 2 inches deep (commercial cake pan or cast iron skillet)
Dough
3 teaspoons sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 ¼ cup warm water (105-115 ° F)
3 ¼ cups (more or less) bromated bread flour
3 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sauce (best if prepared several hours or the day before)
2 cans of chunk-style tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 large clove of garlic, or several small ones, crushed
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Stuffing
About 3 heads of fresh spinach
12 ounces grated mozzarella cheese or more
DOUGH: Easy way—put all ingredients into an automatic breadmaker, set the cycle for pizza dough, and take it out in an hour. If you have to do it by hand….. Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Set aside. Mix flour and salt in a large 4-5 quart mixing bowl.
Make a well in the flour; add the yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until a rough mass of dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface; knead for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Dust with flour if the dough sticks to your hands. Dust the dough lightly with flour; place it in a lightly floured mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set it in a warm place to rise for 1-1 ½ hours, until doubled in bulk.
Punch down the dough; turn it out onto a work surface and knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into two pieces—1 slightly larger. Roll out the larger piece for the bottom layer of dough until it is about 3 inches larger than the pan and is about ¼ to 1/8 inch thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the bottom layer of dough in the pan; push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 1 inch. (Since the dough does not usually cooperate this well, just stretch it over the pan and allow the filling to force it to conform to the shape of the pan.)
STUFFING: Wash the spinach thoroughly and dry it completely. Remove the stems. Chop or tear the leaves into pieces no larger than about an inch. In a 2-3 quart mixing bowl, you can combine the spinach and the grated cheese. Or, you can just layer the spinach and the cheese in the pizza pan over the bottom layer of dough. If you choose that option, start with a layer of spinach and make sure you have a layer of cheese on the very top.
SAUCE: Drain all the liquid from the tomatoes, then crush them in a strainer to remove all excess moisture. Chop or crush the garlic and mix everything together and let it set for a few hours or overnight, if time allows.
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Preheat the oven to 450°. Put the spinach and cheese mixture into the pan. Heap it up, it will collapse when cooking. Lay the second piece of dough over the spinach-cheese mixture. Crimp the 2 edges of dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand. Cut a 1-inch slit in the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape.
Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the top crust.
Bake the pizza in the preheated oven. Put it on the lowest rack for about 10 minutes. Then move it up about 2 slots and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.
ENJOY
