Out of Helen's Kitchen-Greek Pizza

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Published on Tuesday, June 19, 2018

By Helen Drysdale

Neepawa Banner & Press

When you think about Greek dishes, the first thing you think of is olives.

Olives are huge in Greek food culture. There are many varieties of olives; from green to black, from Peloponessos to Kalamata, there is an olive for every single person. Olives and olive oil are used in almost every dish in Greek cuisine, as an ingredient, salad dressing or garnish. Some olives are picked unripe, while others are allowed to fully ripen on the tree. Olives straight off the tree are hard and bitter. Curing is what removes the bitterness. Water curing, brining, dry curing and lye curing each yield distinctly different flavors and textures. I do not eat olives except in Greek recipes and they are axiotháv̱mastos (wonderful) in this recipe for Greek pizza.

Herbed pizza crust:

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. oil

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 tsp. LITEHOUSE oregano herb

Sauce:

1 small can tomato paste

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp. LITEHOUSE oregano herb

Topping:

2 cups fresh spinach, washed

slices of thinly cut pepperoni(optional)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese or more to taste

5-6 fresh basil leaves, sliced

2/3 cup sliced black olives or less to taste

2-3 slices of sweet onion, coarsely diced

2-3 tomatoes, coarsely diced

6-8 washed and sliced mushrooms

1-2 cups mozzarella cheese

In a 2 cup measuring cup mix the water, sugar, salt and oil together well. In a bowl mix 2 cups of the flour, herb and instant yeast. Add the water and mix until it forms a ball. Add more flour if necessary. On a floured surface knead dough for 5 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Grease 2 pizza pans and divide dough and press the dough into pans. Mix the sauce ingredients together and spread on the dough. Place toppings on the pizzas in order given. Bake at 425° oven for 15-20 minutes.