Cooley Family Farm

I am, by the way, addicted to reading food blogs. I read a food blog about a spinach and apple pizza and decided that for this meal I would use pears instead of apples.

The original recipe I found called for fresh spinach, however, I prefer to saute’ my spinach in a skillet with a little water until it’s soft. You can also thaw out some frozen spinach, chop it up and use it. So if you have extra spinach this time of year, just blanch it and freeze it so you can make this pizza in the winter, you will love it!!

Pizza Crust (adapted from allrecipes.com)

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

I toss everything in the bread machine and put it on the dough cycle which in my bread machine takes 1 1/2 hours.

When I take it out of the bread machine I roll the dough out into 2 pizzas. Don’t make them perfect. They look so much prettier and authentic if they are odd shaped. I poke holes in the rolled out dough with a fork.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I bake mine on parchment paper on a baking stone or air bake sheet for about 10 minutes without toppings. After I have added all of my toppings I bake pizza until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

The Sauce (adapted from Foy Update)
1 pint frozen tomato sauce (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper

The frozen tomato sauce is how I preserved our summer bounty. The sauce can also be made from whole frozen tomatoes. I just toss everything in a sauce pan and simmer it down until the desired consistency.

Pizza
1 cup Spinach fresh (or saute’d or frozen spinach that has been thawed and all excess moisture squeezed out)
1 pear (peeled and sliced thin)
mozarella
goat cheese
provolone
parmesan
ramano

After the pizza dough has been pre-cooked for about 10 minutes (this is optional depending your your preference for how the crust is cooked) I put the sauce on. Don’t put it on too thick. Then I added just a thin sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Next I spread the spinach (remember to make sure you have squeezed out as much moisture as you can and chop it up) out on the pizza. Added little globs of goat cheese and thin layers of the other cheeses.

Bake the pizza for about 15 – 20 more minutes.

Yummy!!

Hope you enjoy it!
-Tracy