Greek Pizza: An Explosion of Tastes

 This rich and decadent pizza is a beautiful symphony of delicious flavors.  This extra crispy pizza crust is topped with feta cheese, spinach, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, and marinated chicken. Your taste-buds are in for a wonderful surprise!

The pizza crust in this recipe is different from the crust included in my Pizza Night recipe.  My previous dough recipe is a great quick dough recipe that can be ready to bake in as little as 40 minutes.  The recipe below is thinner and crispier.  It does require that the dough be left in the refrigerator over night. 




Ingredients for crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast (I poured the package out into a small bowl and measured it out)
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup olive oil

 Steps:

In a stand mixer, mix the flour, yeast, honey, salt, and Italian seasoning.  Combine well.

While the mixer is on, slowly pour in the hot water and the oil.

Mix until dough forms a ball around the mixing attachment.  If dough appears to be too sticky, add a small amount of flour.

After combining for 1-2 minutes, switch to kneading attachment, and knead for 3 minutes (kneading can also be done by hand).

Remove ball of dough from the bowl and add a couple of drops of olive oil, and coat the ball with the oil.  Return the ball to the bowl.

Cover the bowl (make sure the covering is airtight), and let dough rest in the refrigerator over night.

When you are ready to bake your crust, pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Divide your dough into two equal parts, and form each half into a ball.

Cover your workspace in a dusting of flour.

Pat the circle of dough down as flat as you can with your hand.

Roll the dough out into a thin sheet.

Coat a pizza pan (I like to use a pan with large holes (this can also be referred to as a pizza crisper) to ensure a crispier crust) with olive oil: coat the pan by using a brush to apply the oil.

Carefully transfer the thin sheet of dough to the oiled pizza pan.

Trim the edges using a pizza cutter.  If you would like to, you can also stretch the dough a bit with your fingers to make a more perfect circle.  Be vary careful because the dough tears very easily.

Prick the dough with a fork.

Bake the crust in the oven on the middle rack for 5-7 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your crust).

Remove from the oven, and allow the crust to cool for 3-5 minutes.

Ingredients for topping your Greek pizza:

• 1/2 cup real mayonnaise (not miracle whip, the real stuff--I used Spectrum Organic Mayonnaise with Olive Oil)
• 2 teaspoons of jarred garlic (equals 4 cloves)
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (I found this in a small jar located by the spaghetti sauce and pasta), coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups of baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 5 ounces of crumbled feta cheese 
• 1 boneless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
•  1 teaspoon jarred garlic
•  1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Steps:

Place your oven rack on the lowest position.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the chicken into pieces, and marinade in a small bowl with olive oil and garlic.

Heat a pan over low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes (or until white all the way through), turning often.

Remove from heat, and set aside for later.

Chop the onions, and set aside.

Chop the kalamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes (I was able to find sun-dried tomatoes that had already been cut up), and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, and 1/2 cup feta cheese together.

Spread the mayonnaise mixture evenly onto the pre-baked pizza crust.

Top the mixture with the kalamata olives, chicken, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Bake in pre-heated oven, bake pizza (on lowest rack) for 7 minutes.

While the pizza is baking, in a large bowl mix spinach, onions, and oil from sun-dried tomatoes, and toss until  spinach and onions are evenly coated.

When you remove the pizza from the oven, top with the spinach mixture and the remaining feta cheese.

Place the pizza back in the oven, and bake for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove pizza, and let cool for a couple of minutes before cutting and serving.

What a unique and delicious twist on pizza.

Enjoy!
     ~ Chef Megs