One of the best things about having lived in Chicago for fifteen years was being introduced to Chicago pizza. Be it deep dish or stuffed it is not easily forgotten. It’s a pizza with substance, an eat me with a knife and fork kind of pizza, a pizza you will have to sit down and savor, not grab me and run type of pizza. And there’s something to be said for that!
There was a place called Edwardo’s in Evanston which borders Chicago where I first tasted Chicago Style Stuffed Pizza. As I recall there were always fresh basil plants growing under lights in the front of the restaurant, which I thought was really cool, and a bit unusal for the time.
Although the stuffed pizzas came with all kinds of fillings including pepperoni and sausage, the stuffed spinach pizza was their signature pizza.
I believe Edwardo’s has several locations today in the Chicago area, but no longer in Evanston. This recipe for Chicago Style Stuffed Spinach Pizza comes from The Chicago Tribune Cookbook. It is a compilation of more than 600 of the very best recipes that have appeared in The Chicago Tribune Food Guide during the 1980’s.
As an aside I just want to say that the Tribune’s Food Guide at that time was phenomenal! With two young boys I may not have always had time to read the paper, but I always found time to sit down and study the Thursday food guide. To this day my recipe box, and I’m talking huge storage box, not small recipe file, is filled with clippings from recipes I cut from that weekly Food Guide. One of my biggest disappointments after having moved to the DC area was, and still is, the skimpy Food Guide of The Washington Post!
But, you won’t find this recipe disappointing. One of the changes I made is to use fresh spinach instead of frozen called for in this recipe. I’m pretty sure Edwardo’s does, too!
Chicago Style Stuffed Spinach Pizza (adapted from The Chicago Tribune Cookbook)
Crust
1 tablespoon sugar
2 envelopes active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (or canola)
4 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2 to 3)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes with added puree
2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano
1 and ½ teaspoons dried basil (I added some fresh basil sprigs as well)
¼ teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
Filling
3 packages (10 ounces each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, well-drained or 2 pounds fresh spinach, washed, dried, and chopped
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced, optional
2 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like)
¼-½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon each: salt, freshly ground pepper
2 and ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup each, freshly grated: Parmesan cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese
1. For crust, dissolve sugar and yeast in water in large bowl; let stand until bubbly. Stir in 1/3 cup oil. Stir in 4 cups of the flour until smooth; stir in remaining flour as needed until stiff dough forms. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.
Put into greased bowl. Turn to coat top. Let rise, covered in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
2. For sauce, heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat; add garlic, cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, 1 and ½ teaspoons basil,¼ teaspoon salt. and pepper. Simmer until very thick, 30 minutes.
3. If using the frozen spinach simply add the remaining filling ingredients to the well drained spinach in a large bowl.
If using fresh spinach, heat olive oil in large skillet. Add spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Cook over high, stirring frequently just until spinach wilts and most of excess liquid has evaporated. Drain in colander and set aside.
Mix drained spinach with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Punch dough down. Let rest 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface roll 2/3 of the dough into 16-inch circle. Fit into lightly oiled 12-inch pizza pan (at least 2 inches deep); let sides overhang.
5. Put spinach mixture into center of dough and smooth evenly over surface. Roll remaining dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch circle. Put over filling. Crimp edges; cut excess dough at edges so dough is level with top crust. Pour sauce over dough to cover. Bake until dough is golden, 20 to 40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.