Pizza with Ground Lamb, Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I think being a "pizza snob" is a good thing! At our house we usually prefer pizza with a thin crust sprinkled with some olive oil and simple fresh ingredients like tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. So, nothing fancy, it just has to taste good. You won't find anything cheese dripping, heavy crusted or ingredients overloaded on our dinner plates.

This doesn't mean that we are not open for other pizza options. So, when I stumbled upon this recipe of a pizza with spiced ground lamb on top of a roasted pepper sauce my curiosity was awakened. It reminded me of a Turkish style pizza that you can purchase in many Turkish stores in Germany.

Bake your own crust or purchase a prebaked crust for  a quicker assembly. The homemade roasted pepper puree goes exceptionally well with the spinach and the cinnamon and paprika spiced lamb. The recipe calls for feta cheese, which we adults love, but my teens decided on some sharp cheddar.

Both pizza variations tasted great hot and also at room temperature. This ground lamb, spinach and roasted pepper pizza also makes a great appetizer and will be served at my upcoming party. I am sure that my guests will enjoy it.

 Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound ground lamb
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
* 1 onion, diced
* 8 ounces fresh spinach leaves
* 2 prebaked thin pizza crusts, more info here
* 1/3 cup prepared roasted red pepper puree*
* 10 ounces crumbled feta cheese or other cheese of your choice

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400F. Combine the lamb with the ground cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper and oregano. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add just 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the diced red onion and saute for 30 seconds. Add the ground lamb mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes, until cooked through. Drain and discard excess fat.

Brush each pizza crust all over with olive oil. Spread 1/2 of the roasted red bell pepper puree on the pizza, leaving the outer 3/4" from the edge free. Scatter 1/2 of the spinach leaves on top of the pizza, Spoon 1/2 of the ground lamb over the spinach, then top with 1/2 of the feta cheese.

You can place the prepared pizza onto a baking sheet or carefully place it directly into your oven on the rack. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until edges of the flatbread is brown and the cheese has melted.

*make your own roasted red pepper puree:
  Place store bought or homemade roasted peppers with a little bit of olive oil in a blender and puree.

Adapted from Goodbite.com.