Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza: Better Things

Hello, Welcome to Pizza and a Movie on Djalali Cooks. Today’s pizza is a take on a Mediterranean pizza with roasted red pepper puree, grilled artichoke hearts, feta cheese, finished with basil leaves. I found grilled artichoke hearts at Trader Joe’s, but you can certainly use canned or jarred artichoke hearts if you can’t find them grilled. Instead of a movie today, we are watching the FX show, Better Things. The show has 5 seasons, the complete series is available to stream on Hulu. Let’s get to it!

First thing, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, with a pizza stone or steel. Then drain a 16 ounce jar of roasted red peppers. Add the peppers to a food processor or blender and process until the peppers are a chunky sauce.

(I am not sure what happened to the ingredients image, but I want to include it to show you the packages from Trader Joe’s. The grilled artichokes are labeled as tapas style grilled artichokes.)

So we have the roasted red pepper puree, for the other ingredients we have the gilled artichoke hearts, feta cheese and grated mozzarella.

On a lightly floured pizza peel, roll, spin or stretch the dough out to about 12-inches round. I am laying the pizza dough out on a piece of parchment placed on top of my peel. Trader Joe’s pizza dough is notoriously sticky and I don’t want to use a ton of flour. I will bake the pizza on the parchment, on the pizza steel.

Build the Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza

Start with a layer of grated mozzarella. Then dollop the roasted red pepper puree evenly over the cheese. I used about half of the puree for this pizza.

Next, place the artichoke hearts evenly over the pizza. Crumble the feta over the top.

Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese is melted. When the Pizza comes out of the oven, tear several large basil into smaller pieces and scatter over the top of the baked pizza.

And that’s it! This Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza is a great vegetarian pizza, it’s light and flavorful; the roasted red pepper puree is a great tomato sauce alternative. The briny feta adds savory richness, the grilled artichoke hearts bring the lightly smoky, charred flavor of the grill and the fresh basil is herbal and sweet. If you use plain, jarred artichoke hearts, the only thing you’ll be missing is the grill flavor, so don’t let that deter you from making this pizza. I did find a similar product on Amazon: Trader Joe’s Grilled Marinated Artichoke Hearts.

Movie Night: Better Things

We have our Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza ready so let’s get to the show! Better Things is a show on FX that had its final season last year. So the complete series is available to stream with a subscription to Hulu. Pamela Adlon co-created, wrote, produced, directed and stars in the series. Adlon plays Sam Fox, an actor doing her best raising her three daughters as a single mom in Los Angeles. Better Things is an amplified version of her own experience.

Heartwarming and very funny, Better Things is a binge-worthy show. I first watched it last year, and I have started re-watching it. Even in all the craziness and unpredictability in Sam Fox’s life, there’s a comforting message in every episode. And that is that no matter what may come, the people you love are there for you. Better Things, the complete series, is available to stream with a subscription to Hulu.

Thank you so much for joining me today for Pizza and a Movie. Remember you can peruse past posts for pizza ideas and movie recommendations by clicking the Pizza and a Movie tab under Series in the main menu.

Key Equipment

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Red Pepper and Artichoke Pizza

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 2-4

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10-15 Minutes – Total Time: ~30 Minutes

A new take on a Mediterranean-style pizza, with Roasted Red Pepper Puree, Grilled Artichoke Hearts, Feta Cheese and Fresh Basil.

Ingredients

• 16.4 oz. Jar Roasted Red Peppers
• 1 Prepared Pizza Dough
• 1 cup Grated Low-Moisture Mozzarella Cheese
• Grilled Artichoke Hearts, or plain jarred Artichoke Hearts
• Feta Cheese
• Fresh Basil

Instructions

1

First thing, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, with a pizza stone or steel. Then drain a 16 ounce jar of roasted red peppers. Add the peppers to a food processor or blender and process until the peppers are a chunky sauce.

2

On a lightly floured pizza peel, roll, spin or stretch the dough out to about 12-inches round. I am laying the pizza dough out on a piece of parchment placed on top of my peel.

3

Start with a layer of grated mozzarella. Then dollop the roasted red pepper puree evenly over the cheese. I used about half of the puree for this pizza.

4

Next, place the artichoke hearts evenly over the pizza. Crumble the feta over the top.

5

Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese is melted. When the Pizza comes out of the oven, tear several large basil into smaller pieces and scatter over the top of the baked pizza.

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