This pizza doesn’t take too long to make and is a great side dish or main course.

Step 1: Make the Dough

I do this dough quick and dirty, and by that I mean I don’t measure anything out except the yeast.  But don’t worry, it will turn out great. Start with putting one teaspoon of instant yeast in a bowl and adding some water to it.  For one thin crust pizza use about a half cup water. Swish the water around in the bowl (don’t mix with a spoon) until the yeast is dissolved. Then add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a few shakes of the salt shaker.   Now comes the flour. I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour in this pizza, but you can use all white flour if you prefer. The half wheat flour crust is a lot less chewy and is more of a cracker crust, but its healthier.  Add about a third of a cup of each kind of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Then take stock of your dough.  If it is soupy, add more flour, and if it is dry and crumbly, add more water.  You want to have a ball of dough that is more wet than dry, but that does not stick to your hands when you pick it up.  Keep adding water and/or flour until you get the right consistency, and until the ball of dough is about the size of a baseball.

Put the dough on a work surface (I use a bamboo cutting board with a towel under it).  You may need flour to keep the dough from sticking.  Punch the dough down and fold it over itself, kneading with the heel of your palm as you flatten the dough.  Keep doing this-punch, fold, knead-until the dough is stretchy.  If you are using wheat flour it won’t be as stretchy as only white flour dough.  Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Step 2: Make the Filling

Slice an onion into thin rounds, and sautee in olive oil over medium high heat until just slightly brown on the edges. Add about 2 cups frozen spinach (If using fresh, you’ll need a large bunch), some fresh thyme and a little salt and pepper.  Sautee the mixture, stirring frequently, until the spinach is hot and cooked.  Set filling aside.

Step 3: Assemble the Pizza

After the dough has risen for about 2 hours, prepare a baking sheet by sprinking it with cornmeal.  If you have a baking peel, you can use that sprinkled with cornmeal.  Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a round pizza.  It should be approximately 12” across, but may be smaller or larger depending on your dough and how thick you like the crust. I would recommend a fairly thin crust with the whole wheat dough.  Put the dough onto the cornmeal baking sheet, making sure that the cornmeal is evenly distributed under the dough.  Set the dough aside to rise for another 20-30 minutes. After it has risen, use a spatula to spread the dough with ricotta cheese.  You don’t need a thick layer.  Then evenly spread the spinach and onion topping, and top this with grated romano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is brown and the cheese in the middle is melted.  As soon as you take the pizza out of the oven, squeeze a half of a lemon onto it and serve immediately.