This is not your ordinary pizza. This is a spinach feta pizza. A Greek-style pizza topped with spinach, onions, delicious and tangy feta cheese and dusted with dill, then drizzled with a flavorful Greek dressing. It’s one of the best memories of college!
Flashback to the 1990s
This was when Chowan University was known as Chowan College (now University). I was studying and received my degree in Printing Production & Imaging Technology. While attending classes there, one of my printing classes took a field trip to Richmond, Virginia to visit an ink manufacturing plant. I’ll be honest, I really don’t remember that much about the ink plant other than checking the viscosity of the inks (yes I am a geek like that). What I remember more than anything about that field trip was afterward when we stopped for lunch.
Everyone divided into groups. Some went to Wendy’s, some went to McDonald’s and then there was a group that decided to try this little hole in the wall Greek restaurant, called The Crazy Greek. I didn’t have that much money, but I had to go there versus fast-food restaurants. After all, it was a Greek/Italian restaurant!
I barely had enough money to get the lasagna I ordered and I really don’t recall anything special about it, but I’m sure it was good. What made the lasting impression on my brain about this college field trip happened on the trip back to school. One of my classmates was going on about this pizza he had ordered and he was having another slice from the box he brought with him. I’m not sure why, but he offered me some of his leftover pizza.
I have always been willing to try new foods and that pizza was no ordinary pizza. This was Spinach Feta Pizza! It had a normal pizzeria pizza crust, but there was no tomato sauce or melted cheese. Instead, it had a bed of fresh wilted spinach topped with onions and a whopping amount of feta cheese on top and sprinkled with dried dill. Instead of sauce, you drizzled a homemade Greek Dressing on top.
Once I took the first bite, I knew exactly why my classmate was raving about that pizza. IT WAS GOOD! A flavor explosion in my mouth. I’m pretty sure I ended up eating at least two if not three slices of this guy’s pizza before we got back to the campus. Even cold, that pizza was good!
Fast forward 5 years
David and I were living in Virginia Beach. One weekend, we rode to Richmond and found my beloved Crazy Greek restaurant. After years of waiting, I was reunited with that wonderful Spinach & Feta Cheese Pizza.
The only thing that was stopping me from trying to recreate it at home was that dressing. What was in that wonderful dressing. The restaurant serves it in little Styrofoam containers. There is no bottle with an ingredient list and you can tell it was homemade.
The only thing that was stopping me from trying to recreate it at home was that dressing. What was in that wonderful dressing. The restaurant serves it in little Styrofoam containers. There is no bottle with an ingredient list and you can tell it was homemade. I told David more than once I was going to take it to a lab and have it analyzed to see what was in it.
Fast forward 2 more years… I came across a Greek Dressing recipe online. As I read the ingredients, I began to imagine how they would taste together and immediately thought it was that famous recipe used by The Crazy Greek restaurant.
What if??? What if I could finally make this treasured pizza on my own????
I went to the grocery store and bought some pizza dough, fresh spinach, onion, dried dill and all the ingredients for that Greek Dressing recipe I found online. I was determined to make a Spinach Feta Pizza of my own. You know what? It was pretty darn close to the pizza I have loved for years!
How To Make Spinach Feta Pizza
Prepare the Greek Dressing:
Mix all of the dressing ingredients together inside of a jar with a lid and shake well.
Prepare the Pizza:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare pizza dough per recipe or package instructions.
Add a layer of fresh spinach out onto the dough, making sure the dough is covered except for a 1-inch border around the edges.
Add a layer of onions over top of the spinach.
Next, add a thick layer of feta cheese to cover over as much of the onions and spinach as possible. The cheese to be the main ingredient of the pizza, so pile it up!
Lastly, add a generous sprinkling of dried dill on top of the cheese.
Place the pizza into the preheated oven. Bake the pizza until the dough is a light golden color and a little crispy on the bottom and the feta cheese browns slightly; about 20 to 25 minutes. Be sure to check the pizza about halfway through to make sure that your oven is cooking the dough evenly.
When the pizza is done, remove it from the oven. Allow the pizza to cool slightly, then cut into slices.
Serve with Greek Dressing drizzled over the pizza slices.
I hope you’ll give this a try. It is so good, even David loves it and he doesn’t even like spinach!
OPA!
Spinach Feta Pizza
Ingredients
Greek Dressing
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ¼ teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
The Pizza
- 12 inch pizza dough
- 10 ounces fresh spinach
- ½ sweet onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups feta cheese crumbled
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
The Dressing
- Mix all of the dressing ingredients together inside of a jar with a lid and shake well.
The Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare pizza dough per recipe or package instructions.
- Add a layer of fresh spinach out onto the dough, making sure the dough is covered except for 1-inch border around the edges.
- Add a layer of onions over top of the spinach.
- Add a thick layer of feta cheese to cover over as much of the onions and spinach as possible. The cheese to be the main ingredient of the pizza, so pile it up!
- Add a generous sprinkling of dried dill on top of the cheese.
- Place the pizza into the preheated oven. Bake the pizza until the dough is a light golden color and a little crispy on the bottom and the feta cheese browns slightly; about 20 to 25 minutes.
- When the pizza is done, remove from the oven. Allow the pizza to cool slightly, then cut into slices.Serve with Greek Dressing drizzled over the pizza slices.
Colleen says
Sounds good! Maybe one of these days when we go to Richmond, B.O.B. Bob and I will have to check it out!
The Mountain Kitchen says
I highly recommend a visit! All their food is good. It’s on Staples Mill Road. A little hole in the wall type building. You can’t miss it!
Rachel says
Don’t beat yourself up about the old pix, we all have those posts that make us cringe!! THIS is the pizza of my dreams & I must have it immediately.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Rachel – If you love feta cheese, it is a must! There is a major flavor explosion between the Greek dressing and dill… 😀
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Hey there those Greeks are known for great food!!! (Yes, I am half Greek and Half Italian)! Yes, for real… The only difference is I use lemon cream cheese on the bottom layer (thin) then my Father’s (He owned the Restaurant 22+ years), Greek dressing and Voila!!! The best darn homemade pizza around! Nice job Debbie!!! WOO HOO!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Wow, Cheryl! That is really cool. Lemon cream cheese sounds like the perfect addition!
Have a great week! 🙂
Anna Buckley says
That sounds yummy and I’m amazed the restaurant is still there. A definite ‘must try’ when I’m over in September.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Yes, it is a local favorite in Richmond. Been there a long time. 🙂
Dana @ IveGotCake says
This is my kinda pizza!!!
Great story too, definitely worth recreating 😀
You should do a Food Fact Friday about Cheese – so I can finally know which cheese doesn’t have lactose :p
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hummmm…… is there such a thing?!?!
Natalie Tamara says
Aww I have a similar thought when I look back at some old blog photos. In fact, I re-did one recipe recently and showed my partner the comparison. He politely informed me I used to be pretty bad at food photography! On that particular occasion, I couldn’t disagree.
This pizza looks amazing though and worth re-visiting with an excuse or without 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Natalie! We make this pizza a lot without an excuse.
We all have to start somewhere, I guess… 😉