Tag Archives: pita bread

Re-creating the Pizzas at Co. Part 1 – The Popeye Pita Pizza

9 Apr

Recently, my friend AnnieMariel and I were bored and took a plane to spend a weekend in NYC…  during this visit we had lunch at Co., a new pizza restaurant in Chelsea. 

When we were talking about our travels and dining experiences to our French class friends, they asked us to please recreate for them the pizzas we had at Co.  They just though they sounded as delicious as we thought they tasted.  We described them in such detail they just could not be left out in the dark.

We gathered at the house of another friend, which meant I had to transport everything to her house to make the pizzas.  And since I am not dexterous in the bread-making department as you already know… I decided to make these pizzas on Pita bread.  Pita bread is perfect and super reliable t make quick pizzas at home and are in the round shape people expect.  You already saw the version I did for my “nieces” when we were traveling in Vermont.

Here is what you will need to make this spinach-lover pizza…

 popeye-pita-pizza-4

POPEYE PITA PIZZA

Makes 1 personal pizza

 1 whole-wheat pita bread, the larger the better
About 1 tsp olive oil
About 1 tbs gruyere cheese, grated
About 1 tbs pecorino romano cheese, grated
 3 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese – make sure it’s the fresh kind, not the part-skim processed kind
About 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach, washed and dried in a salad spinner
Garlic salt and freshly cracked black pepper

 

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 450 F.
  2. Place pita bread in a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle a bit of the olive oil and spread it all over the bread.  Grate the gruyere and the pecorino cheeses on top of the pita bread.  Place the slices of mozzarella on top.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper.
  3. Now place as much spinach as you can on top of the pizza.  Try to accommodate as much of those 2 handfuls of spinach as possible, because it will cook down a lot.  Drizzle with extra olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt and fresh pepper.
  4. Place in the oven and bake until the edges of the pita bread start to toast.
  5. Take out of the oven and let it cool off a bit.  After about 3 minutes, cut into 4 slices using a pizza wheel slicer.

 

The girls could not believe how good this pizza was… they were raving all about it for days.  My mom had a chance to try it too the next day.  She was also impressed at the flavors and the look.

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Pita Pizzas with Arugula Salad

3 Mar

I just came back from a skiing holiday in Vermont with my little “nieces” Mariana and Natalia – they’re the daughters of my 2 best friends.

We stay at a slope-side apartment with a fully equipment kitchen.  We love to buy stuff for breakfasts, dinners, and the much needed après ski break.  Mariana and Natalia specially requested this time around for me to make them pizzas.  And my kind of pizzas is Pita Pizzas – especially because I was not going to “bake” any crust in an unknown kitchen.

This is what we came up with to satisfy the kids and adult tastes alike…

 pita-pizza-w-arugula-salad

PITA PIZZAS with ARUGULA SALAD

Serves 4

 

4 whole-grain pita breads – about 6″ in diameter
1 cup of your favorite jarred tomato sauce – you may not need as much but I did not measure the sauce after I already placed it on the pizzas.  You can also make your own… mixing crushed tomatoes and seasoning them with some garlic salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.
Shredded cheese – I like the Italian Blend type, but you can certainly go as fancy as you want … using fresh mozzarella, Fontina, gruyere, etc.
1 tomato, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin
About 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Arugula Salad – click for recipe here

 

 

  1. Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 400 F
  2. Take the pita bread and smear some tomato sauce leaving a ¼” border.  Not too much so they do not turn soggy.  
  3. Top each with pita a few slices of fresh tomatoes and onions.  Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and top with the Italian-blend shredded cheese mix.
  4. Place in oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts and turns a nice bubbly golden brown in sections.
  5. Top each pizza with a handful of arugula salad for a nice contrast of freshness and tang.
  6. Sprinkle with additional shaved parmesan cheese on top of salad.

 

Have to admit, the girls ate the pizzas on their own and left the salad to the side, but the adults loved it.

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