Before I return to the mountain of school work waiting for me I wanted to share with you what we had for dinner this evening: Caramelized Onion & Spinach Pizza Pie. Using a basic pizza dough recipe from “The Bread Bible” and some nifty instructions from “The Cook’s Book” I whipped this baby up during study breaks this afternoon. If you ask me, at the end of a long day there are few things better than a fantastic pizza crust filled with melted feta cheese, caramelized onions, spinach and mozzarella.
Caramelized Onion & Spinach Pizza Pie
(View larger image here)
This recipe may sound complicated, but if you have worked with dough before it’s actually not too difficult. All it requires is a bit of know-how and a lot of patience. In addition to rising time the dough needs to rest while you are rolling it out into a thin circle, which then has to be handled gently in order to avoid tearing it. Nevertheless, your efforts will be rewarded. This pie was a huge hit. In fact, it’s already been added to this weekend’s menu. Encore!
Caramelized Onion & Spinach Pizza Pie
Adapted from “The Bread Bible” by Beth Hensperger and “The Cook’s Book” by Jill Norman.
Step 1: Make the pizza dough
Make 1 1/2 batches of pizza dough using the recipe listed here, in a previous “Baking and Books” entry. Follow the instructions up until (and including) the line that reads “Let rise at room temperature until tripled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.”
Step 2: Make your filling
During the last 30 minutes of dough rising time begin making your filling.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
- One 9-oz package of spinach
- 2 large cloves of garlic, diced
- One 8-oz bag of Mozzarella
- 4-oz of feta cheese
- About 1/2 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the the onions have taken on a light brown color (caramelized), about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the spinach in handfuls, allowing each addition to wilt before adding the next. Once all the spinach has wilted cook for approximately 3 more minutes - just long enough for excess liquid to evaporate. The mixture can be moist but shouldn’t be watery. Season with pepper and additional salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 3: Roll out & fill the dough
Gently punch down your dough and remove from the bowl. Divide into thirds, then put 1/3 back into the bowl. Roll out the remaining 2/3 of dough on a lightly floured surface, into a circle about 8-inches in diameter. Cover it with a clean towel while you lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan with olive oil.
Remove the towel and roll out the dough into an even larger, thinner circle, measuring 16-inches in diameter. Cover again and let rest for a few minutes, then gently lift it up, balancing the weight of the dough over your hands and forearms, and lay it over the pan so that the center droops down to cover the bottom. Be careful not to let the dough tear. Gently ease the dough into the corners and up the sides of the pan, leaving some hanging slightly over the rim.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Add about 1/4 cup of your pasta sauce and spread evenly over the bottom and sides of the dough using a spoon. Sprinkle the bottom with half the feta cheese, then half the onion mixture, then half the mozzarella. Repeat again, beginning with the sauce and ending with the mozzarella cheese.
Roll out the smaller piece of dough you set aside earlier, into a circle about 8-inches in diameter. Place this on top of your filling. Use a knife or scissors to trim the edges of the dough lining the pan, so that they can be folded in over the top crust and overlap it slightly. Brush the top of the crust with a little olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, then let the pie rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Place the pie in the middle of the preheated oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Carefully remove the side of the pan and allow the pie to cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm and enjoy!
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This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 by Ariela and is filed under Breads, Main Dishes, Yeasted Breads. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
40 Comments.
1. Helen | March 19th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
That sounds fantastic! Underneath the first picture I red “Click here for larger image” and I thought :”woman, you want to kill me….?!” This is the perfect sunday night recipe. Thanks for sharing!
2. Abby | March 19th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
It certainly looks fantastic! But patience and time I just don’t have a lot of these days. Perhaps I could breathe long enough to try this. It looks like it could supply a lot of comfort! Cheeeeeesey.
3. Ruth L | March 19th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Oh my that pizza looks devine!
I just got home from work and I’m really hungry…looking at these photos just makes me hungrier by the second. The pizza looks like it would melt in your mouth. I think that is a very creative way to eat your veggies.
4. Alex Richards | March 19th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Wow that looks fantastic. I am SO going to make that… just hope it turns out!
5. T.W. Barritt | March 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Amazing! I love the rustic look of the double crust, with all that cheesy filling and vegetables inside!
6. Tanna | March 20th, 2007 at 12:07 am
Goodnight, good golly…that looks fantastic. What cheesey goodness! I love the double crust!
7. Timi | March 20th, 2007 at 3:03 am
Um, yum. That looks awesome. Oh the cheese.
8. Jane | March 20th, 2007 at 6:04 am
looks fabulous! My sort of pie!
Just to recap on one of your earlier posts about waffles (I think) from the Good Enough to Eat cookbook - I was in New York last week and ate there for breakfast - I had the nut waffles - well I ordered the nut waffles - but they gave me the plain and brought me some nuts to sprinkle on top - served with syrup and orange butter they were however delicious.
Email me if you want to see some photos of the cafe.
9. aka Nik | March 20th, 2007 at 6:06 am
mmmmmmmmm
10. Rosa | March 20th, 2007 at 6:56 am
That pie is really wonderful! It looks delicious. I love it’s runny filling…
11. Bradley @ Sauces and Stuff | March 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am
As I sit here and munch away on left over pizza for breakfast your post looks fantastic. If you have even seen how deep dish pizza is made it is very similar except in deep dish there is no top layer of dough. The caramelized onions sound like an excellent combo for the spinach!
12. Tali | March 20th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Like I commented in your previous post: this blog makes me hungry!!
13. Sara | March 20th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Wow…looks great, I am going to bookmark this!
14. Matt | March 20th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
WHOA! Now that is a pizza!
15. Andi | March 20th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
OK, I realize I never have anything constructive to say in my comments. It’s usually just an “Oh WOW that looks amazing!” And I mean every word. But this particular goody calls for more. More enthusiasm, more feeling, more volume.
OH WOW THAT LOOKS AMAZING!!!
AMAZING!
AMAZING!!
AMAZING!!!
And I mean every single word. *drool*
16. Kelly-Jane | March 20th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
My goodness what an amazing blog you have here! Your food and pictures are fantastic!
The pie looks SO good!
17. Pam | March 20th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
WOW…the picture of that pizza just seems to jump off the screen. My mouth is totally watering! You take fabulous food photos!
18. Osiris | March 20th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Ari,
The pizza looks absolutely scrumptious! I can almost smell the aroma and even taste it. I’m going to see if my wife and I can duplicate your feat. Wish us luck and good cooking.
19. sher | March 21st, 2007 at 2:42 am
Those pictures are insanely gorgeous. I will be thinking about that pizza…….forever!
20. Susan from Food "Blogga" | March 21st, 2007 at 8:40 am
Outrageously delicious! Seriously!
21. Kristen | March 21st, 2007 at 10:36 am
You never cease to amaze me. When I was a college student, I’d eat canned biscuits for dinner! Look at you and your amazing cooking with such a crazy schedule.
22. Dianka | March 21st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Oh my goodness! Pure cheesy heaven! This looks SO delicious! Good luck with your school work!
23. Damselfly | March 21st, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Oh, yeah! I should have read my blogs before I went to the store today….
24. peabody | March 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 am
How gooey and fantastic does that look!
25. Naomi | March 22nd, 2007 at 8:13 am
Do I ever want to sink my teeth into this one!
26. Mae | March 22nd, 2007 at 8:45 am
That looks amazing!!! Plus with spinach… oh yum.
27. joey | March 22nd, 2007 at 10:58 am
I cannot look at that oozy cheezy picture up top any longer or my laptop may suffer serious damage…wooohooo so good! Any the combination of the cheese, caramelized onions, and spinach is just all my faves! YUM!!!
28. Brilynn | March 22nd, 2007 at 11:19 am
I love the oozy cheese! And that crust looks just right!
29. Monika Korngut | March 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
What a great recipe. It looks delicious I wish I could have a bite. The oozing cheese and caramelized onion, my favorite. It was a pleasure to visit your site, I will be back again.
30. Nazca | March 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Now that looks good! Looks like I’d burn my ‘ongue hon id too
31. Passionate Eater | March 23rd, 2007 at 12:33 am
You did that during study break?! Wow, that is impressive! Especially the intricate way you pressed the crust together. Although you say it is not that complicated, it looks like perfection–and perfection is often complicated!
32. gattina | March 23rd, 2007 at 3:44 am
OMG!!! It is so cute! And nothing better than feta and caramelized onion!
33. Cris | March 23rd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
That looks sooo yummmy, I want to try it!!! You please come down anytime. I will be glad to show you around and take you to the country restaurant, I am sure you will love it. More pictures soon! Have a nice weekend!
34. Freya | March 23rd, 2007 at 3:57 pm
This looks totally delicious!
35. Cheryl | March 23rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
This was not what I need to see at 4:30, while at work, starving, wanting to go home and eat dinner. Wow, that is incredible.
Reminds me of a panzarotti.
36. eliza | March 24th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Ari, you’re such a tease! i was drooling looking at your pie picture!
thank you for sharing the recipe.
37. Meeta | March 25th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Oh Wow! I diedand went to pizza heaven that looks too good to be true Ari!
38. Scott at Realepicurean | March 26th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
You know what you just made me think about? People don’t make Pizza like they used to. Gone is “pizza pie”, in favour of very thin pizza with no “pie” whatsoever. Thanks for reminding us about the real pizza pie - that’s amore!
39. utenzi | March 27th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
That looks so incredibly good, Ari. Mmmm. I think I’ll leave out the spinich though. I just don’t like mixing wonderful things like melted cheese and tomatoes with green things. LOL
40. Naomi | March 28th, 2007 at 8:52 am
In addition to the potpie I would also like a slice of this for lunch.