White Pizza with Spinach and Avocado

This pizza sounds kind of weird, but is super delicious and a fun change of pace from our usual recipes.  Whole wheat pizza dough gets spread with garlic-spiked ricotta, and then piled high with raw spinach and fresh mozzarella.  The spinach cooks down in the oven, and the cheese melts and gets extra gooey.  I like including the spinach raw rather than pre-cooking it both because it's easier and because I think the texture turns out a little better.  Finally, arrange slices of fresh avocado on top of the hot pie right after it comes out of the oven for the perfect rich, green finishing touch.  Because of the avocado, this pizza doesn't keep as well as other recipes for leftovers, so I recommend making just as much as you plan to eat for dinner.

White Pizza with Spinach and Avocado (adapted from the Kitchn, original recipe here)

12-18 ounces whole wheat pizza dough
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A few handfuls of baby spinach

6 ounces whole milk fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 Hazz avocado, pitted and thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.  Spray with oil.

2. Spread the dough out on the baking sheet to your desired thickness.  Bake until dry on top and just starting to brown -- as this pizza has wet toppings, you want to make sure the crust won't get soggy.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, cream, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread the ricotta mixture over the pizza.  Top with baby spinach -- it will cook down in the oven, so don't be afraid of a fairly thick layer.  Top the spinach with mozzarella.

5. Bake until the crust is crispy and the mozzarella is melted. If the cheese needs a little help to get browned, pass it under the broiler for a minute or two.

6. Top with thinly sliced avocado, slice, and serve hot.