white garlic spinach stuffed crust pizza with homemade marinara dipping sauce
(1 RATING)
When I was 17 I worked as a "cook" in the kitchen of a mall pizzaria. They had a chicago style stuffed crust spinach white sauce pizza that I prepared for them every day (their recipe) that I fell in love with. When I left the restaurant finally, I used their recipe (memorized of course) and re-invented this dish MY way.....It's taken me years to perfect, but trust me, it's awesome...For those of you who are thrown off by the fact it uses spinach as a main ingredient, don't be!!! I absolutely HATE spinach with a passion, but I adore this pizza. Serve it with homemade marinara sauce for dipping (will post this recipe soon!).
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prep time
2 Hr
cook time
25 Min
method
---
yield
8 serving(s)
Ingredients
- - dough:
- 5 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- - filling:
- 2 1/4 cups grated mozzerella cheese
- 2 cloves roasted garlic or 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 3/8 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 package 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.
- 2 cans mushroom stems and pieces
- MARINARA DIPPING SAUCE
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (or 1 1/2 cloves garlic chopped)
- 1 tablespoon oregano, dried
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 6 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or diced
- 2 cups water
- 1 can tomato paste, italian
- 2 - bay leaves
- - brown sugar to taste
How To Make white garlic spinach stuffed crust pizza with homemade marinara dipping sauce
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Step 1In a stand mixer, mix together the water, oil and yeast until the yeast is fully dissolved. Add the flour and salt. Mix on low until most of the flour has mixed with the wet ingredients. Increase speed and knead until dough forms a ball and is smooth, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow dough to double in bulk, about two hours.
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Step 2While dough is rising lets prepare our filling and get our oven going. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Over a large bowl, squeeze each head of roasted garlic gently with your fingers to expel the cloves. Add in Olive oil, Ricotta Cheese, Spinach, Mushrooms (drained and dried), and 1 cup of the Mozzerella cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste, mix thoroughly.
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Step 3When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and knead it briefly (about 1 minute). Remove 1/3 of the dough and place it back in the bowl, covering tightly. Roll the larger 2/3 portion of dough out into a 16" circle. Place the dough into a lightly greased 15" x 2" round deep-dish pizza pan. The dough should come up 2" on the sides. Fill the dough shell with your spinach mixture.
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Step 4Sprinkle remaining mozzerella cheese on top of the spinach mixture.
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Step 5Roll out the remaining dough into a 14" circle and place it on top of the filling. Pinch the top and side edges together to seal. Prick the top with a fork to allow steam to escape.
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Step 6Let the pizza rise an additional 15 minutes in the pan before baking. Bake at 500-degrees F. for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400-degrees F. and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is done.
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Step 7While pizza is baking, prepare your Marinara sauce. Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over a medium flame. Saute onions until the start to become tender, add garlic and continue to saute for 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn it. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a little bit of water to the pan. Add in all herbs and cook for another 45 seconds - 1 minute.
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Step 8Add in tomatoes, water, and tomato paste, blending well with the onions, herbs and garlic mix.
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Step 9Add in your brown sugar and salt to taste. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until tomatoes have broken down. Remove from heat and remove your bay leaves. Use this for dipping sauce. This sauce recipe makes a LOT of sauce, however leftover sauce freezes extremely well, and like most things Italian, it's even better the second day around, so it can be used with another pasta recipe later if desired.
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Step 10I know that there are a lot of steps involved in making this pizza, and it takes quite a bit of time, however if you prepare all of your ingrediants (measure, chop, roast, etc) before starting any steps in this recipe, you'll find it's much easier to handle.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Post a picture of your finished recipe here and on your favorite social network. Don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes!
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