Thursday, May 26, 2011

Florentine Pizza

On the same library trip where I discovered Inside Out Chicken Cutlets Brasciole, I found this recipe for Individual Florentine Frying Pan Pizzas. I adapted the recipe to make one large pizza and baked it on my pizza stone.


Florentine Pizza
recipe heavily adapted from Look + Cook by Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry in a clean kitchen towel
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ pound thick-cut deli ham, cut into 1-inch pieces

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes to take off the chill. Place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven.  Heat the oven to 500°F for at least 30 minutes.  

Meanwhile heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons butter. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, then sprinkle the flour into the pan and whisk for a minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add drained defrosted spinach into the sauce.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

After the dough has been at room temperature for 30 minutes, it is ready for shaping. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Shape the dough with lightly floured hands and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on dough. Top with the spinach mixture, cheeses, and ham. Brush the outside edge of the crust lightly with additional olive oil. Slide the dough onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes.  

Serves 4