Not-So-Simple Cheese Pizza (Fresh Tomato Pesto Sauce on Spinach Crust) Pizza Night!

"It's very greeeeeeeeeen."

So says my daughter when she spied this pizza coming out of the oven.  If the people you feed don't like green in general, try this pizza.  It's the first way I got my kids to eat spinach, and remains a tasty option when I get spinach in the farm share.  Especially when it's cold and my body craves warm things, not cold green smoothies.  Seasonal eating at its best.

This pizza uses the spinach crust from my Deployment Pizza, adds a (put up, from my freezer) fresh tomato pesto from Heather at In Her Chucks, and tops it off with a creamy Philly-Italian shred blend.  Tonight's tomato pesto sauce uses red farm share tomatoes, arugula pesto, and cashews.  It's delicious--as are all the permutations of fresh tomatoes, green herbs, and salted nuts that I've tried so far.  I cannot wait until summer when each week I plan to whip up a new fresh tomato pesto for the pizza.  For now, however, I'm delighted I discovered Heather's recipe in time to put up several batches of sauce for pizza.

If you look close, you can see my cashews.

Not-So-Simple Cheese Pizza (Fresh Tomato Pesto on a Spinach crust)

(For general pizza hints and tips, see my Pizza Primer here)

1 portion spinach crust (see directions here)

1/2 to 1 cup fresh tomato pesto (see how I make and put mine up here)

1 1/2 cups shredded Italian 5 cheese and cream cheese blend

Preheat oven (and a baking stone if you have one) to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch out the dough to a reasonably circular shape.  Let it hang out for a while (30 minutes) if you'd like the crust a bit fluffier, or go straight into topping and baking if you'd prefer a thinner crust.

Spread the fresh tomato pesto across the crust.  If it's previously frozen, you're welcome to drain the juice that may have accumulated at the top.  Or stir it in, your choice.  I've done both, and notice that with a wet topping my pizza is wetter if I don't drain the juice.  I don't consider cheese to be a wet topping, so it shouldn't make much difference.  Top with cheese.  Bake, on the parchment, for 5-8 minutes.  Shake the pizza off the parchment onto your baking stone or cookie sheet, and continue to bake for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbly.  Cool on a rack a couple of minutes for the cheese to set up, slice, and serve.

This post is linked up with What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns In My Oven and Taste and Tell Thursdays.