After we moved out here, one thing Niket and I always miss is good pizza, especially Chicago style deep dish pizza. One of our favorite pizza spots back home is Lou Malnati’s pizza, known for their buttery crust and deep dish pizza. Last month on my birthday, I was lucky enough to have my sister and friends mail me some Lou’s pizza…and boy did it hit the spot!
I was now on a mission to create my own Chicago-style deep dish pizza using my new weapon the in the kitchen: a cast iron skillet. I always hear Bobby Flay, Pioneer Women and chefs on The Kitchen talk about how a cast iron skillet is an essential tool for cooking, but I didn’t realize it until I recently purchased one. I’m not exaggerating when I say my life has changed! The advantages of cooking with a cast iron skillet:
- It’s a great heat conductor so food cooks evenly, crisps up quickly, and stays hot. What I love most is that you can bring it from your stove-top to the oven, and then straight to your table top. Pretty much, it’s a one man show!
- You don’t need to use as much as oil when cooking in cast iron skillets because you season them prior to use(mine came pre-seasoned).
- Remember, don’t wash your skillet with soap! Only scrub with water, dry completely and using a paper towel, rub the inside with some oil for maintenance.
- You don’t have to worry about getting chemicals in your food which is not the case when cooking in non-stick pans. In fact, cast iron skillets will fortify your food with some iron, great for nutrition!
Ok, enough about the cast iron skillet. Back to my attempt at making Chicago style deep dish pizza.
Spinach, Garlic, Giardinera Deep Dish Pizza
For the pizza dough: you can buy a store bought ready-made pizza dough or make your own. Here is my recipe:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package of active dry yeast
- 1 tspn sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tspn garlic powder
- 1 tspn crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tspn italian seasoning
- 1 tspn salt
For the sauce:
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 1 can of San Marzano crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1/2 tspn dried oregano
- splash of red wine ( I used a Pinot Noir)
- salt and black pepper to taste
For the filling:
- Fresh baby spinach leaves
- Shredded or sliced Mozzarella cheese
- Giardinera peppers
- Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Preparation of the pizza dough:
Dissolve 1 package of active dry yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl. Cover for 5–10 minutes. In the meantime, mix all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Incorporate the water with dissolved yeast and sugar with all other ingredients and form a dough. Once the dough is formed, cover bowl with plastic wrap, place in dark place (I put it in the oven)for at least 2 hours until the dough rises (doubles in size). I use 1/2 of this prepared dough for the recipe.
Preparation for the pizza sauce:
Start by heating 2 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add a splash of red wine and cook until alcohol is cooked out (3 minutes). Add the can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt, black pepper and simmer for 20 mins on low-medium heat. Lastly, add fresh basil and cook for another 5 mins.
Assembling the pizza:
Make sure your cast iron skillet is well oiled. Take your pizza dough and start pressing with your hands from the bottom/center of the skillet to the outer edges of the skillet creating a 1–1/2 inch crust. This part will take some time, but it will be well worth it. Make sure the bottom crust is not too thick.
Add a layer of baby spinach, a thick layer of mozzarella cheese (about 3/4 of the way up to the crust edges), and top with giardinera peppers. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Remember, it’s important to season during every step. Begin ladling the sauce to cover the top of the pizza. Top with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and cook pizza for 25–35 minutes until the crust becomes golden brown.
Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting yourself a slice. Grab a beer of your choice and Veg Out!
