Smoked Gouda Spinach Pizza

Week 515. Year 10. Tommy is 43. January grey. The crawfish sleeping. The hunting winding down. The business in its slow season. The pause before the spring. The inhale before the exhale. split pea soup to fill the quiet.

Made split pea soup this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. The chain holds.

Split pea soup carried the week, but the slow season calls for more than one day of warmth — and when I found myself with spinach on hand and a wheel of smoked Gouda that had been sitting in the fridge long enough to earn its place in something good, a pizza felt like the right next move. It’s the kind of food that does the same thing the soup does: fills the room, signals home, asks nothing of whoever walks in. January doesn’t need fancy — it needs the oven on and something that smells like you meant it.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb store-bought or homemade pizza dough, at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz fresh baby spinach (about 4 cups, loosely packed)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (about 6 oz)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cornmeal or flour, for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the center rack and preheat oven to 475°F. Allow at least 30 minutes for the stone to heat through.
Sauté the spinach. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add spinach in batches, tossing until wilted, about 3–4 minutes total. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Remove from heat and press out any excess liquid using the back of a spoon or a clean towel.
Shape the dough. On a lightly floured or cornmeal-dusted surface, stretch or roll the pizza dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper dusted with cornmeal.
Build the pizza. Brush the dough with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Drop spoonfuls of ricotta evenly across the surface. Scatter the sautéed spinach over the ricotta, then top with the shredded smoked Gouda and Parmesan.
Bake. Slide the parchment with the pizza onto the preheated stone or baking sheet. Bake for 16–20 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and beginning to bubble and brown in spots.
Rest and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 3–5 minutes before slicing. Serve hot, straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Smoked Gouda Spinach Pizza — The Stove Is On and the Welcome Is Unconditional