Ever since my little brother told me a few months ago that he makes the best home made pizza sauce and dough I have been excited to try them out. And then last week while he was visiting I was finally able to. The sauce he makes is absolutely fantastic...it involves roasting tomatoes and garlic for hours and then pureeing them with olive oil and I don't know what else. Unfortunately it's his secret recipe and he didn't let me know what it was:( But the crust is from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook and is super easy to make and really delicious. Pizza is just so much better when the dough is freshly made. I like a thin crust so we stretched it out quite a bit and were able to get 3 medium sized pizzas out of it. It was perfect, and the outer crust didn't get all dried out. My bro, hubby, and I each put different toppings on our pizzas, and I'm pretty sure mine was the best. They just had outrageous toppings like pepperoni *gasp!* and green peppers. I went with a different combination...
I had a small jar of artichokes at home, so it got me thinking of my favourite dip, artichoke and spinach, which got me thinking of crab dip, and the toppings just went from there. The artichokes, spinach, crab, and red onion were superb together. And I had some crab left over which I added to the cheese mixture in my cheese wontons, which turned out really well. And now onto the recipe, because if I think about this pizza anymore I will have to make another!
Artichoke and Crab Pizza
1/2 of the pizza dough from the recipe below
1 small can pizza sauce (or make your own!)
1 6oz. jar of artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 can of crab meat
1/4 cup cooked spinach, chopped and drained well (about 1 1/2 cups before cooking)
2-4 tbsp finely diced red onions
1/4 cup finely diced yellow and/or orange peppers
Preheat oven to 450F. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll and stretch the dough into the size and shape of pizza wanted and put on the baking sheet. Spread desired amount of sauce over dough. Place artichoke pieces over the sauce and then cover pizza with mozzarella cheese. Top cheese with the remaining ingredients, evenly covering the pizza. Bake for 10-12 minutes on middle rack, or until crust begins to brown. Broil for 1-2 minutes at end to turn cheese golden and bubbly. Let cool for a minute before cutting and enjoying! Yummmm!
Pizza Dough Recipe
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp for coating bowl
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar, if desired (sugar makes a puffier crust)
Sprinkle yeast into the water in a large bowl and let stand 5-10 minutes until yeast is dissolved and foaming.
Mix in the remaining ingredients until it's all holding together (start with less flour and add more if needed). Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Dough will be smooth and elastic when done.
Coat a large bowl with remaining oil and place the dough in it, turning it so that oil coats the whole dough ball. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let rise for an hour and a half in a warm place. Dough should double in volume.
Punch the dough (best part!) and divide it in half, forming 2 balls. Lightly cover the balls and let rise for an additional 15 minutes to 24 hours. (If letting it rise for a long period leave it in the fridge and take it out about 15 minutes prior to using.) *My brother made the dough the night before so it was ready for dinner the next day.*
Roll out the dough balls, top with your favourite sauce and toppings, and bake at 450F for 10-12 minutes.
