This past week calls for an uncomplicated recipe, and one that resembles pizza. This easy puff pastry pizza is inspired by Spanikopita. It’s made with sauteed spinach, feta, and preserved lemons which give it an extra briny touch.
This past week has been disgruntling to say the least. The violence at the Capitol sent me into a long internet spiral and then a consequent (and necessary) break from my phone. This past year has left me in a similar place–a year of internet spiraling and webmd rabbit holes followed by phone breaks. We’re coping however we can, but I see a tiny glimmer of hope coming soon. Hang in there! Tomorrow is a new day.
My eating in 2020 was also full of ups and downs. I really delved into cooking from cookbooks again. My new favorite right now is Cool Beans by Joe Yonan, which is vegetarian recipe paradise. Beans are my number one ingredient right now. But I also remembered the joy of always keeping a box of puff pastry in your freezer when you’re too lazy to crank out pizza dough to make a pizza. Puff pastry makes for some flaky tender “pizzas” that are super simple to make.
My puff pastry pizza is topped with sauteed spinach that’s been chopped in the food processor then spread on the pastry like pesto. Then top it with crumbled feta and preserved lemons for the perfect dinner or late night snack. If you don’t have preserved lemons, don’t sweat it! Just use a regular lemon and slice it, rind and all very thinly. It’ll be a bit more tart than my version, but lemon on pizza is the bomb. Try it next time you make homemade pizza!
Thank you so much for reading. Hang in there!
Check out the full recipe for my Spanikopita-inspired Spinach, Feta, and Preserved Lemon Puff Pastry “Pizza” below.
- 1 square of puff pastry
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- ½ of a yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 9 oz fresh spinach
- kosher salt
- 4 oz fresh feta
- half of one preserved lemon or regular lemon
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Thaw the puff pastry on the countertop at room temperature for 40 minutes. In a small bowl whisk the egg. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and garlic, stirring to cook until the onion is translucent. Add the spinach one handful at a time, stirring to wilt it as you go. Once all the spinach is wilted, add a couple of pinches of salt and taste.
- Let the spinach cool for 5 minutes. Add the spinach mixture to the bowl of an 8 cup food processor or blender. Pulse until the spinach is chopped roughly. Set aside.
- Once the puff pastry is thawed, roll it out slightly on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin to remove the creases. Rub olive oil on a large baking sheet or add a layer of parchment paper. Place the puff pastry on the baking sheet. Brush the whisked egg over the surface of the puff pastry.
- Add all the spinach mixture to the pastry and use a spoon to smooth it over the whole surface in an even layer. Crumble the feta on top.
- Rinse the preserved lemon under water and remove the seeds. Chop into thin matchsticks crosswise. If you're using a regular lemon, rinse it, halve it, remove any seeds, and slice it thinly, including the rind. Sprinkle the lemons all over the puff pastry.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust and feta are lightly browned. Cut into squares and serve.
