Spinach And Ham French Bread Pizza Recipes

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Place rack in the upper-middle position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
• Cut the loaf of bread in half crosswise, and then cut each piece in half horizontally to make 4 equal pieces.
• Place the bread cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the crust with the olive oil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, garlic powder and salt. Flip the bread cut-side up and brush the cut side with the melted butter mixture.
• Bake the bread (cut-side up) until it's browned on the edges, about 5 minutes.
• Spread sauce evenly on each piece of toasted bread. Top with mozzarella, then Parmesan, and finally the pepperoni or other optional toppings (in that order). Return to the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
• Let the pizza rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

HAM AND SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until transparent, 6-8 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook and stir until mushrooms are browned, about 6 minutes longer. Add spinach; cook until heated through., In a microwave, melt remaining butter; stir until smooth. Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush with butter. Layer with 3 additional phyllo sheets, brushing each layer. Transfer to a lightly greased 11x7-in. baking dish, letting ends extend up sides. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.), Layer dish with ham, cheese and spinach mixture; pour eggs over filling. If desired, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with remaining phyllo dough. Fold dough ends over filling; pinch edges to seal. Brush with remaining butter. Cut slits in the top. Bake until browned, 40-45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes before cutting.

SUPER STUFFED FRENCH BREAD PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Split bread lengthwise and hollow it out. Cut in half across, making 4 shells for pizzas.
• Heat a skillet over medium high flame and brown sausage in extra-virgin olive oil. Brown and crumble sausage. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, add spinach. Remove mixture from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, to your taste.
• Transfer to a bowl. Combine sausage and veggies with ricotta, Parmesan, sopressata and pepperoni. Fill bread shells and top with mounded mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Place in hot oven on cookie sheet and bake until cheese melts and bubbles and bread is super crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Top pizzas with oregano and hot pepper flakes. Serve immediately, or snack all night!

HAM, SPINACH & ARTICHOKE PIZZA PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Wash the spinach, place in a colander in the sink, then pour over a kettleful of boiling water, to wilt the leaves. Drain well, pressing out as much water as possible, then roughly chop.
• Make up the bread mix following pack instructions, then divide in half. Roll out one half to a round about 35cm, then transfer to an oiled baking sheet. Thinly spread with tomato sauce to within 2cm of the edge, then season with salt and pepper. Drain and dry the artichoke hearts if they come from a can or jar, then thickly slice. Scatter over the tomato sauce with the spinach, then space about 8 dollops of crème fraîche on top, covering each with half a slice of ham. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Roll out the other half of the dough to the same size as the first one. Brush the edges of the dough with water and cover the round of dough and vegetables, pressing the edges to seal them. Make a slit in the centre of the dough with the point of a knife, then bake for 25-30 mins until golden and crisp. Cut into wedges and serve with a green salad.
• To prepare ahead: Make up the pizza pie and freeze, uncooked, on the baking sheet, then remove and wrap in foil when firm. To cook, return to the baking sheet and leave to defrost for 2 hrs, then cook as above. If you prefer to freeze it ready-cooked, simply defrost and reheat in the oven for 10 mins.

TORTA RUSTICA WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.

PEPPERONI LOVER'S FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Combine tomatoes, garlic, salt, oregano, olive oil and black pepper in a medium bowl, and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
• Prepare the pizza: Combine the 1/4 cup olive oil and garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the garlic starts to sizzle, but doesn't brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place the French bread cut side up on a baking sheet. Brush cut sides with garlic oil. Bake until edges are golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Toss together the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni in a medium bowl. Divide tomato sauce between the two bread halves all the way to the edges and top with pepperoni and cheese.
• Return to the oven and bake until melted, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to broil and broil (watch carefully!) until the cheese is bubbly and browned in spots, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve topped with more Parmesan, red-pepper flakes and oregano, if you like.

SPINACH AND HAM PIE

Steps:

• To make the pastry, combine the butter and cream cheese in a food processor or standing mixer. Process until combined. Add the cream and process until combined. Add the flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and process until just combined and a ball forms. Turn it out onto a floured surface, divide into 2 pieces, and form into discs. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the spinach in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the leaves are wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set in a colander to drain until cooled. Squeeze it dry and chop; you should have 2 cups.
• Meanwhile, place the olive oil and onion in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 2 of the eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the remaining salt, and the pepper. Stir in the spinach, onion, and ham, if desired.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the dough edge to hang 1/4 inch over the sides. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over dough. Roll out the second piece of dough and drape over the spinach. Trim the dough to hang over the bottom crust by 1/2 inch. Fold the top crust over and inside the bottom.
• Using your fingers, crimp the dough to seal. Cut a few vents in the top. Beat the remaining egg with a little water and brush lightly over the pie. Bake the pie for 1 hour or until it is golden brown. Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

FOUR-CHEESE FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until starting to turn golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, a few splashes at a time to start, until evenly incorporated. Bring to a full boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened and the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. (It will continue to thicken as it cools.). Remove from heat, and whisk in Parmesan, pecorino, salt and pepper. Let cool.
• Prepare the pizza: Combine olive oil and garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the garlic starts to sizzle but doesn't brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place the French bread cut side up on a baking sheet. Brush cut sides with garlic oil. Bake until edges are golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Toss together the cheeses in a medium bowl. Spread sauce over the two bread halves all the way to the edges and top with cheese.
• Return to the oven and bake until melted, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to broil. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and browned in spots (watch carefully!), 1 to 2 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve topped with red-pepper flakes and oregano, if you like.