A Pizza For Popeye - Spinach Pizza

We all know that Popeye loves two things: spinach and Olive Oil. So it makes sense that this recipe contains both. My Spinach Pizza is inspired by a recipe that I found on Martha Stewart's website for Popeye Pizza (which was shared with her by Chef Jim Lahey).
The name of the recipe conjured up my memories of watching Popeye as a kid. I thought he was cool and he definitely made me want to eat spinach. Although, I just watched a Popeye episode on YouTube and I now realize that he could have just as easily made me want to smoke pipes and punch people out (glad I just picked up on the spinach part).  Here's an episode to put you in the mood to make Spinach Pizza.

This recipe is different than the one I found on Martha Stewart's website. If you want Jim Lahey's exact recipe, click on the above link.


SPINACH PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Dough:

3 c. flour

1/4 c. olive oil (plus few tbs. extra for bowl and pan)

1 c. warm water (90-100 F)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 (1/4 oz packages) or 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

Topping:
3 c. fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1 c. grated Romano Pecorino or other hard cheese ( such as Asiago and Gruyere)
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt
2-3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Pizza Dough:

1. Proof your yeast by placing warm water, yeast and sugar into a small bowl. Let sit until frothy, about 3-5 minutes. If it doesn't get frothy then your yeast is dead or your water is too hot or cool and you'll have to start again.
2. Place flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix by hand or with your paddle attachment on your stand mixer on low until dough just begins to form into a ball. If dough remains sticky, add flour a tbs. at a time until ball forms. If dough is too shaggy or dry add water a tbs. at a time until ball forms.

3. Knead dough by hand or with hook attachment on stand mixer for about 10-12 minutes. Dough should be stretchy and not tear easily. Test by taking a small piece, balling it up then stretching it a little, if it tears knead for a few minutes longer. Roll your dough into a ball, place it into a large bowl. Add a couple of tsp. of oil to the bowl and roll the ball in the oil.

4. Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.    

NOTE: if you would like to make your dough whole wheat, replace half of the flour with whole wheat flour and let the dough rise twice. After it rises the first time, punch it down and let it double in size a second time.

Making the Pizza:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. On a floured surface, stretch your dough by hand or roll it out with a rolling pin until it is a circular shape with a 14" radius and about 1/8" thick (a bit thicker at the crust).  Place on pan lightly oiled with olive oil (if you don't have a pizza pan, use any pan that your pizza will fit onto or change the shape of your pizza to fit a pan, you can also use a preheated pizza stone). 

2. Spread garlic slices evenly onto dough, followed by the black pepper. Next come the cheeses, mozzarella, then the romano. Then the spinach which gets sprinkled with the salt. (Hold off on the olive oil until the pizza comes out of the oven.)  

3. Place pizza in oven for 10-12 minutes, the spinach should wilt and the crust should be browned. Then drizzle olive oil over the pizza and cut into pieces.