White Pizza on Cheesy Focaccia

Everyone loves pizza. It's an American favorite, and an Italian classic. For a Tuesday night dinner, I decided to get focaccia bread from a local bakery chain. Most people wouldn't know what to do with focaccia besides make it into sandwiches. I thought that it's size in diameter would make it perfect for personal sized pizzas for the family. The White Pizza gets it's name from the lack of using tomato sauce as it's base. There are hundreds of variations of the white pizza. Some use clams and spinach, bacon and spinach, but almost ALWAYS has spinach. This recipe uses bacon, of course! :)

White Pizza

2 rounds of cheese focaccia

8 TBL of extra virgin olive oil

14 oz of ricotta cheese

8 oz of mozzarella cheese

1 lb of bacon, diced and cooked until crispy

1 package of frozed chopped spinach

2 chopped garlic gloves

1/4 cup of diced onions

salt & pepper

Place the frozen on package of spinach in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, or until the spinach is fully thawed. Drain the spinach in 2-3 sheets of paper towels and squeeze out all the excess water. Heat a large skillet under medium high heat with 2 TBL of extra virgin olive oil. Saute the chopped garlic and onions for 2-3 minutes and add the spinach. Add a pinch of salt and pepper (or red pepper flakes for a little more heat).  Saute for about 3 minutes and turn off the heat.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Take a serrated knife and carefully cut each focaccia round into equal halves. Place on a baking sheet. Take 2 TBL of olive oil and brush it all over the focaccia. Top with about 1/2 a cup of mozzarella cheese, taking it all the way to the edge. Take about 2-3 TBL of the sauteed spinach and spread it over the mozzarella cheese. Top with crispy bacon. Take a spoon and scoop out ricotta cheese from the package and gently dollop half a tablespoon to a tablespoon all over the pizza. Use as little or as much as you'd like. Repeat on the rest of the focaccia rounds and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted.

This recipe is also great on a store bought thin crust pizza, like picture below!