Greek Pizza

My favorite hummus is from Trader Joe’s. There’s no tahini in it, just chickpeas, lemon, garlic, oil and salt. I started buying it back when Hannah was little because she’d inexplicably had a mild allergic reaction and the only thing I could pinpoint it to was hummus, with tahini. So for years, I’ve just kinda assumed she has a food sensitivity to sesame, so I buy hummus without tahini. My kids love it too. It’s what I use to make their egg salad. I hard boil eggs, chop them, and mix them with the Trader Joe’s hummus. That’s it. Couldn’t be simpler or healthier and they request it in their lunch on a regular basis. Cheap and easy, I like it.

Another meal that’s cheap and easy is homemade pizza. I make it once a week now that I have a crust recipe I am thrilled with and an easy pizza pan and cutter to use and clean up afterwards. Click HERE for my pizza pan and pizza cutter recommendations. I really would not recommend them if I wasn’t using them myself over and over and loving the results.

This pizza happened because I had quite a bit of hummus in the fridge to use up. Since I was roasting grape tomatoes and frozen artichoke hearts for the pizza toppings, I decided to roast a head of garlic to mash-up and add to the hummus for my pizza “sauce”. Roasting garlic is a snap. Simply slice about 1/3 off the top, place in a double layer of foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap it up and bake it in the oven. What’s left is melt-in-your-mouth garlic cloves which fall right out of their skins and can be mashed into a sweet and earthy spread. So delicious.

My entire family happens to love black olives, so those were a must on this pizza. If it were just me cooking for myself, I would have added more traditional kalamata olives, so feel free to make that substitution when making this at home. I felt like I needed a “melty” cheese in addition to the feta on top, so I shredded some Muenster. Mozzarella or provolone would work just as well.

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Greek Pizza

Ingredients

for the crust

• 1 1/2 t. instant yeast or 2 t. active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. + 3 T. lukewarm water
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil + extra for greasing bowl
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 t. kosher salt

for the topping

• 1 1/2 c. prepared hummus I use Trader Joe's brand without tahini
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 T. + 1 t. olive oil
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1 container grape tomatoes washed
• 1 bag 12 oz. frozen artichoke hearts (can also use canned, be sure to drain well)
• 4 oz. shredded muenster cheese or mozzarella or provolone
• 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 1 can 6 oz. black olives (or kalamata olives), sliced

Instructions

for the crust

• Place the yeast in a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add the lukewarm water and stir on low to dissolve. Add the olive oil and 1/2 c. of flour and beat on medium-low speed for a minute until smooth. Switch to dough hook and add another 1/2 c. flour and salt and mix well. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and put machine on low speed until the dough forms a mass around the hook. Let the machine knead the dough for 2 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and scrape out the bowl. Knead on counter for a minute for two until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball.
• Place a teaspoon of oil in the bottom of a large, clean bowl. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and move it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and set in a warm place (near your oven) until the dough doubles in bulk, 45 minutes to an hour.

for the toppings

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes and artichokes with olive oil, season with salt and oregano, and toss to combine. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a sheet pan.
• With a sharp knife, cut about 1/3 the top off a whole head of garlic (so all cloves are exposed). Drizzle with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and wrap in a double layer of foil.
• Place both the veggies and garlic on center rack of the oven. Roast tomatoes and artichokes until all tomatoes have burst, stirring once in the middle of roasting, 20-25 minutes.
• Remove pan and allow veggies to cool. Continue roasting garlic for another 10 minutes, then remove from oven and open foil to cool.

for the pizza

• Preheat oven to 550 degrees and position your oven rack to the lower third of the oven.
• Gently press down on the dough in the bowl to release the air. Stretch it gently to begin forming a flat circle, then place the dough on the pizza pan and evenly press the dough until it reaches the edge of the pan.
• Squeeze the roasted garlic into the hummus and mash together so the garlic is evenly distributed throughout the hummus.
• Evenly spread the hummus on the crust. Top with the roasted tomatoes and artichokes. Top with sliced olives. Layer evenly with the shredded cheese and crumbled feta.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until pizza crust is nice and brown and cheese is bubbly.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving with salsa and sour cream.

Notes

Adapted from James Beard Foundation