[Meatless Monday] Individual "Lasagna" Pizzas

I'd like to think we all have a meal or type of food in our lives that will save a downer day. My "happy food" generally has two requirements: cheese and carbs. At the top of the list is pizza. Nothing picks up my mood like a super-greasy slice from my neighborhood pizza joint. 

The other day I was thinking: the ingredients of pizza and lasagna are essentially the same, so why not merge the two concepts into something new? Being two well-known comfort foods, I had a feeling it would be a perfect meal for an otherwise lackluster weekday! 

In this interpretation, lasagna noodles are replaced with pizza crust that is layered with a cheesy, spinach ricotta mixture. Once baked up at high heat, each of the pizzas are topped with a mushroom marinara. I felt the ricotta and cheeses made the individual portions way more filling than traditional pizza; and the mushrooms in the sauce helped to add some "meatiness" to this vegetarian dish. Plus, I just love them!

I used out a new pizza dough recipe for this meal because I wanted a thinner crust than I usually get with my tried-and-true dough. This recipe from Fearless Homemaker was super easy and didn't require much rise time, which is perfect for nights when you want pizza but are low on patience. A few changes to note: I used rapid-rise yeast in my variation of Amy's recipe, and I also substituted in 1/4 cup of white wine in place of some of the warm water. I think it turned out great!

(Interestingly, when I prebaked the pizza dough, it actually puffed up like pita bread! So for some of the portions, I had to deflate the dough before layering with the ricotta mixture. It didn't, however, affect the final product in any way...but got me thinking: lasagna pita? Definitely could work too!)

Individual Lasagna Pizzas

A Pursuit of Sweetness Original Recipe

Servings: 4

Pizza dough (homemade or store bought)

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

2 ounces mozzarella cheese

2 ounces parmesan cheese

1 cup cooked spinach, squeezed in a paper towel to remove as much liquid as possible
1 clove roasted garlic, or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon basil
3 cups marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)
1 pound baby bella mushrooms

• Preheat oven and baking sheet to 500 degrees. Allow pizza dough to come to room temperature and separate into 4 equal balls. Roll balls out into desired shape---I rolled mine out into rectangles to mimic lasagna noodles. Carefully place dough onto heated baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

• In a bowl, stir together cheeses, spinach, garlic, garlic, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I think I used about 1/4 teaspoon salt). Spread cheese mixture evenly over precooked dough, and return to the oven for an additional 5-8 minutes. Remove when crust is browned and cheeses are melted and bubbly.

• While pizzas cook, saute mushrooms over medium heat. Once cooked through, pour in marinara sauce and simmer on low until heated. Serve pizzas topped with marinara sauce, or on the side for dipping/scooping.