Spinach & Artichoke Pan Pizza with White Bean Sauce | culture: the word on cheese
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Spinach & Artichoke Pan Pizza with White Bean Sauce


Spinach & Artichoke Pan Pizza with White Bean Sauce

Rebecca Haley-Park
White beans blended with cheese create an unbelievably rich base.

Ingredients
  

  • ⅓ cup Neufchâtel cheese
  • 2 cups canned cannellini beans rinsed and drained
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary stem removed, leaves finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 leek cleaned and sliced into half-moons
  • 5 ounces baby spinach
  • Flour for dusting
  • ½ recipe Overnight Pizza Dough
  • 1 14- ounce can artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
  • 10 green onions white and light green parts only, sliced
  • 6 ounces mozzarella grated
  • Red pepper flakes to finish

Instructions
 

  • Combine Neufchâtel, half the beans, lemon juice, half the Parmigiano Reggiano, rosemary, garlic, and milk in a food processor, and purée until smooth. Taste, and add salt and pepper if desired. Set aside.
  • Heat oven to 500°F. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté leek slices 4 minutes, or until tender. Add spinach and cook 3 minutes, or until spinach wilts. Set aside.
  • Dust a baking sheet with flour. Stretch dough into a 13-by-9-inch rectangle, and transfer to baking sheet, rolling sides of dough inward to create a 1-inch-wide crust.
  • Top dough with white bean sauce, leek and spinach mixture, artichoke hearts, remaining beans, green onions, mozzarella, remaining Parmigiano, and red pepper flakes.
  • Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until bottom of crust is crisp and brown. Transfer to a cutting board. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Rebecca Haley-Park

Rebecca Haley-Park is culture's former editor and resident stinky cheese cheerleader. A native New Englander, she holds a BFA in creative writing from University of Maine at Farmington.

Photographer Mark Ferri

Mark Ferri is a graduate of Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif. He believes in a simple, direct approach that captures the natural beauty and appetite appeal of food. Mark celebrates a life-long passion for food by frequently exploring new restaurants in New York and in Europe, and loves to cook and entertain at his home in the Hudson Valley. Learn more about Mark on his website: http://www.markferriphoto.com/

Stylist Leslie Orlandini

Leslie Orlandini is a chef and an accomplished food stylist in print and television. She has been nominated for both James Beard and Emmy awards and is a veteran of thousands of cooking shows and segments. You can learn more about her through her website: http://leslieorlandini.com/

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