Ingredients:

Pizza dough, 2 lbs. (either from supermarket or homemade from recipe on my website)

2 lbs escarole, cleaned and chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

5-6 anchovy fillets

1 tbsp capers

1/4 pitted calamata olives, cut in half

2 tbsp raisins, previously soaked

2 tbsp pignoli nuts

Hot pepper flakes to taste

Grated cheese to taste

Directions:

Allow dough to fully rise.

Divide in two pieces.

Grease a 12” deep pizza pan and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, place olive oil, chopped garlic and pepper flakes.

Place over medium-low heat.

When oil is warm, add anchovies, capers and olives.

Stir until anchovies dissolve and garlic is golden.

Carefully add chopped escarole and cover.

Continue cooking on medium-low, stirring often.

Escarole will release water and that will help cook it.

Remove cover if there’s too much water to allow water to evaporate.

When escarole is soft and dry, add raisins and pignoli.

Set aside.

Gently form a 14” circle with the first piece of dough.

Place it at the bottom of the pan.

Fill with escarole mix.

Sprinkle with grated cheese to taste.

Cover with remaining dough after you have made it into a second circle.

Seal dough together well.

Cut 4-5 small slits on top crust for steam to escape.

Place stuffed pizza into a preheated 400F oven.

Cook for about 30 minutes or until dough is golden on top and bottom.

Slice and serve warm.

TIPS:

To make this dish more simple and quick, I suggested using store-bought dough. I’m also suggesting using ready-to-use escarole packs found in the produce section, next to pre-bagged salad.

Make the filling while dough is rising so it cools off a bit. This step will also speed the process of assembling the stuffed pizza.

Some people don’t like anchovies (although these totally dissolve in the cooking process) so, if you don’t want to use them, just leave them out. You can substitute with small diced prosciutto or pancetta.

If you’re making this dish during Lent and still prefer not to use anchovies, use pecorino cheese and leave meats out.