Wait, where was I going with this?
Oh yes. It is Wednesday night. Which means we are all starting to look forward to Friday night pizza. I posted a few weeks ago a reminder that spinach, so gorgeous right now, makes a great substitute for basil in your favorite pesto recipe. And let me tell you, it absolutely, positively rocks on pizza. Dare I say even better than a basil pesto? A basil pesto is wonderfully sweet, while a spinach one has just a bit of edge to it. It is perfect, just perfect on your pizza dough. Top it with fresh mozzarella and then either some prosciutto or some shredded rotisserie chicken. If you want to go meatless, try some sauteed mushrooms. Heaven.
Just in case you don't have your favorite pesto recipe handy, here's how I do it:
1) Fill your food processor with spinach leaves.
2) Add 2 cloves of garlic that you've sort of loosely chopped (the food processor will do the real chopping, you just want to be able to scatter them sort of evenly).
3) Pulse until finely chopped.
4) Open, add a cup of grated Parmesan cheese and generous pinch of freshly ground pepper. Some folks add a pinch of salt, but I think the cheese makes it salty enough.
5) With the food processor going, add about 1/4 cup of good olive oil - the kind that is so yummy you like to dip your bread in it. This is not the place to use the regular stuff that you cook with every day, get something really fabulous. Check the consistency and add a bit more olive oil as needed.
6) You are ready to spread it on your pizza crust - enjoy!
