Roasted Garlic & Spinach Pizza

It’s pretty much a given that if it has garlic on it, I’ll eat it.

This vegetarian pizza is no exception.

It gets its rich, mellow flavor from slow-roasted garlic and fresh, baby spinach. Fontina and Parmesan add depth and a little salt. The tangy white sauce balances out the flavors.

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OK, so here’s the deal.

This is my entry in the Breakstone’s Battle of the Kitchen Bloggers, hosted by Sandra Lee. . (Yep, the same folks who hosted last year’s Triple Churned Challenge.) Check out my appetizer, Sweet & Spicy Coconut Shrimp.

For the Showdown, Kraft invited me and 2 other bloggers to duke it out. Picture American Idol meets Iron Chef and you’ve kind of got the idea. (Our secret ingredient? Breakstone’s sour cream.)

I picked pizza because it’s something that’s easy to throw together on a weeknight if you have dough on hand. (And if you don’t, grab a ball at your local market or pizza joint on the way home.) You can get pretty creative with ingredients–and you’re almost always guaranteed to have something you can use on hand.

Don’t believe me? Go take a peek in your fridge and come up with a pizza. (Leave a note in the comments below!) I’m bracing for that artichoke heart, bacon, and broccoli pizza. (Ya know, I’ll bet it would be delicious.)

The participating bloggers have a chance to win a cash prize (1^st place is $350, 2^nd place is $250, and 3^rd place is $150).

Enter to win!

As part of the Holiday Showdown, you can enter win a handful of different prizes. If you enter, you’ll have a chance to win a $50 gift card (one winner each week).

You’ll also automatically be entered to win a grand prize of $2,500!

Sound enticing? I thought it might. Click here to enter to win. You can go back and vote and enter every day!

Alrighty, to the ovens!

Roasted Garlic & Spinach Pizza

1 large whole head of garlic
good quality olive oil
½ cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup Breakstone’s sour cream
1 ball pizza dough
Fontina cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup fresh baby spinach

Makes 1 large pizza, serves 4-6

Roast the garlic

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Whack the garlic head in half horizontally.

Put it in a small baking dish (paper and all) and drizzle with olive oil.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast for 25-40 minutes, until soft, golden brown, and fragrant. Remove from the oven & uncover the pan.

Yank the roasted garlic cloves out of the skin with a fork and put them in a small bowl.

Mash them into a paste in a small dish with a fork.

Strain the oil (that’s pure roasted garlic flavor), pop it in the fridge, and reserve it for another use. (Add to salad dressings, brush bread before toasting, rub a roasting chicken with it, you name it…)

Make the white sauce

Put the ricotta, Breakstone’s sour cream, and roasted garlic in a small dish. Whisk together until uniform. Set aside.

Assemble the pizza

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Roll the pizza dough out on a lightly floured board.

Transfer to an unlined, nonstick pizza pan. Stretch it out with your hands so it covers the whole pan.

Spread the dough evenly with the sour cream & roasted garlic mixture.

Sprinkle with a thin layer of Fontina.

Add a thin layer of baby spinach.

Sprinkle with another thin layer of Fontina. Dust with Parmesan cheese. I tossed on a little freshly cracked pepper, just for good measure. You get the idea. (Pizza is a great canvas. Don’t be afraid to improvise.)

Bake the pizza

Bake the pizza in your preheated, 500-degree oven for 10-12 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and slide it onto a wooden board. Slice and serve immediately.

Serving tip

Add more protein to this pizza with thinly sliced, leftover roast chicken or par-cooked shrimp. (And a handful of crispy, crumbled bacon couldn’t hurt, either…)

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