Mediterranean Pizza

Mediterranean Pizza can make for a quick and easy gourmet weeknight meal that will impress your family and friends!  Serve it with a nice spinach or greek salad and you have a complete meal.  You can also cut it up in small squares and stick a tooth pick in each square and you have an excellent appetizer as well.   This recipe pairs nicely with a glass of Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wine aka “Two Buck Chuck”.  Here’s the recipe:

Chicken Marinade:

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
• 1-2 T lemon juice
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed

Grill or bake.  I grilled these on the George Foreman because it was such a small amount. You can substitute leftover chicken breast if you already have some in the fridge that needs to be used. Time saving tip: Since you are already marinating the chicken, you could make ahead a few extra tenderloins for lunches or another meal later in the week: you can add the chicken on top of your favorite salad or eat the tenderloins with a side of asparagus or another wonderful vegetable. The choices are really endless. Since you are already doing the work, how nice it is when you are running behind or are really hungry, to open the fridge and have lunch already done!

Pizza dough crust:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2/3 cup warm water

Stir yeast and sugar into warm water and let stand for 10 minutes until foamy.

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour or spelt flour or gluten free flour to make this a gluten free recipe (You can get spelt flour or gluten free flour at Whole Foods or another natural foods grocery)
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Using metal blade in the food processor, add flour and salt.  Turn on machine and pour the foamy yeast mixture through the top tube, process for about 45 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Add oil to the top tube and process 1 minute more.  If dough sticks to sides of bowl, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time and process for 10 seconds after each time you add more flour.  Add flour just until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl but is still soft to the touch.

Roll dough out onto floured surface.  Keep rotating and turning the dough so it does not stick to the sides.  When you have dough about the size and shape of your pan, fold it in half once, then fold it in half the other way.  Move it to your pan and unfold, then form to the pan.  If you want crust, roll the edges up once around the entire crust and press the little seam into the main dough area.

Toppings:

• 1/8 cup olive oil over the top of the crust
• Crush 2 large garlic cloves and sprinkle over the olive oil
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons oregano over the olive oil & garlic (I get organic oregano at Costco)
• Sprinkle 1-1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 ½ chicken breast tenderloins, marinated, cooked and cut up.
• ½ cup packed baby spinach
• ¾ cup – 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts (I use the ones in sea salt, not marinated)
• ½ cup chopped or julienne style sun dried tomatoes
• ¼ cup feta cheese or goat cheese ( I used goat cheese last night)

If you have a favorite ingredient above, add extra!  Create your own version so it is perfect for the taste of you and your family.  Bake at 350 degrees or until mozzarella cheese and crust is nice and golden.   It took me about 18 minutes to bake the large 14” thin crust pizza and about 15 minutes to bake the  8”  little thick one.  If you like thick crust, the dough recipe will make one large pizza. Now for an even more perfect pair………………….Trader Joes “Two Buck Chuck”.

To print up a wine and food pairing guide, you can follow this link:  http://www.traderjoes.com/guides/wine-guide.asp  You will notice pizza is not under the Shiraz list.  I kind of feel like if you have a favorite and you think it will go good with your meal, even if it is not on the “list” and you would like, its ok to pair it up.

Also, many talk about the health benefits of drinking red wine in moderation.  The Mayo Clinic did an excellent report on the health benefits and the risks of drinking wine.  Check it out: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/HB00089  They ended on the note, drink in moderation or not at all. Some may choose not to have a glass all together.  Be mindful of the fact that when you are cooking for guests, never pressure anyone to drink.  Remember, you want everyone to truly enjoy your Pizza Masterpiece!  Enjoy and have fun cooking!