Oh this is so intimidating. Writing an entry for an entry. My nerves are shot!
Not really, I am just being overly dramatic due to a terrible lack of sleep. I decided to take the day off to recuperate, but instead I am writing. No big surprises there really. Goodness, how I digress.
This here spanako-pizza is my entry for this month’s Hay Hay it’s Donna Day food blogging event. Joey over at 80 Breakfasts, one of my neighbors here in South East Asia (she lives in the Philippines), is hosting this month’s event and the super-theme she chose was pizza. Mmm, pizza.
Why did I name this pizza a spanako-pizza? Continue reading and find out.
I followed the Donna Hay recipe, available here on Joey’s blog. It’s real simple and renders a superb and wholesome thin-crusted pizza base.
Here’s what you need to collect for the pizza dough:
1 teaspoon dry yeast
a pinch of sugar (I use about a 1/4 teaspoon)
2/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Make:
Place yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl and let it stand until it becomes bubbly. Be patient as this takes a while, but it looks great fun once it really starts bubbling! Meanwhile, sift together the flour and salt. When the liquid mixture is all bubbly, add it to the dry mixture and combine and kneed it into a smooth dough. This should take about 10 minutes of elbow grease. Put it into a large, oiled bowl, cover and allow to stand until it has doubled in size. This takes another while so just leave it be while you enjoy a bit of reading or begin preparing the topping.
And here follows the topping. I love spanakopitas. Those fabulous greek filo pastries filled with spinach and dill goodness, so I decided to top a pizza with it.
For spanakopita filling/topping you need:
about two cups fresh spinach, well packed
5 chopped green onions
2 tablespoons fresh dill
4 tablespoons crumbled feta
olive oil
salt
fresh pepper
Make:
Place washed spinach in a little boiling water and cook for about three minutes. Rinse and squeeze out excess water. Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the onions, spinach and dill for about another three minutes, until the onion is soft. Remove from heat and let it cool for a minute, then mix in the crumbled feta and add some salt and ground pepper to taste.
And now for the pizza:
Preheat your oven to 220C and place a flat baking tray in the oven to heat. Lightly dust a cookie sheet with some flour or semolina and roll out half of the pizza dough until it is about 3mm thick. Brush a little olive oil onto the pizza and top it with the spanakopita filling. Lift the cookie sheet onto the preheated tray and bake it for about 15 minutes or until the pizza is golden and crisp.
Slice it up and serve. Watch your guests take a bite and see the appreciative smiles forming on their faces. Delightful!
January 21, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Man.. this looks awesome… good stuff!!!
January 22, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Mmm… all of the pizzas you made were delicious, but this one really was exceptional. Are you sure this pizza making contest isn’t going on for another two months? -X
January 22, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Looks so tasty…
Too bad I am on a ridiculous diet… oh, and it needs to happen. I ballooned up to 50 lbs. heavier than when you last saw me. Mind you, I’m down 20 lbs. After another 20, I will make this and savor every morsel.
January 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm
hhhhm spinnekop pizzaz hmmmmm ek gaan dit copy en paste en mail as nie so subtiele skimp aan iemand wat dit vir my gaan moet maak. ek soek nou dadelik ene
January 25, 2008 at 1:22 am
Thank you.
Speedhakoo- I thought you were the spanakopita queen, shouldn’t you be making it?
X- for you we can pretend there is a contest every week.
Jess- forget about the diet and just make it now, you’ll love it.
February 1, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I love dill, unfortunately is not so common around here – should be great with feta. Yummy pizza!
February 2, 2008 at 5:48 am
You can’t go wrong with the spinach and feta combination and this looks a treat! Nice job!
February 3, 2008 at 7:49 am
LOve the name of this pizza. Great topping. Thanks for joining HHDD.
February 3, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Spanakopitas are one of my favourite things to order in greek places, this pizza sounds great!
February 3, 2008 at 7:51 pm
This looks and sounds wonderful. I am a fool for spanikopita and will be trying this soon. Love the blog!
February 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you all. I’m blushing.
February 6, 2008 at 4:06 am
We are trying it right now..you have a winner!
February 10, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Oh I LOVE spanakopita, and my favourite pizza for years and years was bacon, spinach and feta. Thanks for reminding me I need to make it again sometime! Yummy pics, btw.
February 11, 2008 at 7:23 am
Congratulation on winning HHDD with this fabulous entry. I’ll be in touch to discuss the next event as soon as Joey sends me your email.
February 11, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Congrats!!!! Beauty of a pizza and a well-earned win! 🙂
February 11, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Congrats on your Donna Hay pizza victory! I make pizza at home every Friday night- and I can’t wait to make this for myself…
February 12, 2008 at 2:22 am
Congratulations, well done and well-deserved!! 🙂
February 12, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Congratulations! It looks beautiful on screen, but is even better in my tum. Great job!
February 13, 2008 at 12:57 am
Jeanne, Barbara, Marga, Katie B., Mimi, Christine, and Erin- thank you for the compliments. I’m glad you enjoyed the entry, and the pizza!
February 17, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Yumo..congratulations for the winning entry.
I am trying real soon too.
December 27, 2008 at 7:29 pm
The pizza looks lovely! nice photos!