Pizzas That Are Packed With Energy and Filled With Nutrients

Pizza is a great energy food, packed with protein-rich cheese and meat and Vitamin C, which it gets from tomato sauce. Served with a hearty green salad, a pizza menu can be a healthful way to solve a cook’s what-to-fix dilemma. Pizza is also a crowd pleaser. Choose one of the pizzas suggested here to serve the family, or include them in a buffet featuring other Italian favorites like antipasto. A light, fresh fruit salad is a good way to round out the menu.

Italian Pizza Wreath is a simple variation on the pizza theme, made extra special with a dressed up crust. Its braided edge is easy to make with packaged hot roll mix. The deep-dish pie encloses a delicious filling of Italian favorites--sausage, mushrooms, onion and green pepper. The filling for Spinach Florentine Pizza is an intriguing combination of spinach, cheese and water chestnuts. This meatless version packs a powerhouse of nutrition in one slice.

Japanese Pizza calls upon a culinary delight from a Japanese child’s memory--the crunchy, scorched rice (called okoge ) that lines the rice cooking pot. In it, a rice, green onion, cheese and egg mixture is formed into a pizza shape and pan fried, making a crunchy wedge suitable for appetizer serving or sliced as usual. The use of rice for the pizza crust is a nutritious plus as well.

Nicoise Pizza features an oregano-flavored dough topped with Jack cheese, tomato slices, anchovy fillets, Nicoise olives and basil. Part-skim mozzarella cheese is a better choice than Jack, if dietary fat is a concern. Pizza Pot Pies are baked in and over soup crocks, brimming with a rich sausage, mushroom and cheese sauce for an individual version of deep dish pizza. But watch out for added calories in this one.

ITALIAN PIZZA WREATH

1 (16-ounce) package hot roll mix

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 1/4 cups hot water (110 to 120 degrees)

2 tablespoons oil

1 (10 1/2-ounce) can pizza sauce

1/2 pound Italian bulk sausage, cooked, drained

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 small green pepper, cut into rings

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine flour mixture, yeast from foil packet and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Stir in hot water and oil until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. With greased or floured hands, shape dough into ball. Knead dough 2 to 3 minutes until no longer sticky.

Divide dough in half. With greased hands, pat half of dough into bottom of greased 12-inch pizza pan. Generously pierce dough with fork. Divide remaining dough into 2 equal parts. Shape into 2 (36-inch) long ropes. Twist ropes together and place around outside edge of pan, stretching to fit and pressing against rim of pan to secure. Bake at 425 degrees on lowest oven rack 8 to 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Spread pizza sauce evenly over crust. Top with sausage, mushrooms, onion, green pepper and cheese. Bake at 400 degrees 18 to 28 minutes until cheese is melted and light golden brown. (If crust becomes too brown, cover with foil during last 5 minutes of baking.) Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING: 380 calories; 17 gm protein; 48 gm carbohydrate; 13 gm fat; 850 mg sodium; 220 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 25% Riboflavin 30% Vitamin A 10% Niacin 25% Vitamin C 25% Calcium 20% Thiamine 35% Iron 15%

SPINACH FLORENTINE PIZZA

1 (16-ounce) package hot roll mix

1 cup hot water (110 to 120 degrees)

4 tablespoons oil

2 eggs

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

1 (2-ounce) jar pimientos, drained, chopped

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine flour mixture with yeast from foil packet. Mix well. Stir in hot water, 2 tablespoons oil and 1 egg until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. With greased or floured hands, shape dough into ball. Knead dough 2 to 3 minutes until no longer sticky.

On lightly floured surface, shape dough into 13-inch circle using floured rolling pin or hands. Place on generously greased 12-inch pizza pan, pressing to fit. Fold overlapping edge of dough under, press well to seal and form stand-up rim. Flute edge, if desired. Generously pierce dough with fork. Cover with plastic wrap or towel and let rise on countertop, 10 minutes. Uncover dough and bake on lowest oven rack at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook onion in remaining oil until tender. Remove from heat. Combine sour cream, nutmeg, cloves, cayenne and remaining egg and blend well. Stir in onion, water chestnuts, spinach, pimientos, 1 1/2 cups Swiss and mozzarella cheeses. Mix well and spread evenly over crust.

Top with remaining Swiss and Parmesan cheeses. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and light golden brown. (If crust becomes too brown, cover with foil during last 5 minutes of baking.) Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING: 530 calories; 24 gm protein; 51 gm carbohydrate; 26 gm fat; 660 mg sodium; 490 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 35% Riboflavin 40% Vitamin A 130% Niacin 20% Vitamin C 35% Calcium 60% Thiamine 30% Iron 20% JAPANESE PIZZA

2 eggs

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons mirin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups cold short grain rice, packed

1/2 cup chopped green onions

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup oil

4 ounces anchovies

Beat eggs lightly and add soy sauce, salt, mirin and pepper. Combine rice, green onions and cheese in bowl. Add egg mixture and mix well.

Heat heavy-bottomed 8-inch skillet and coat lightly with oil. Pour in half of rice mixture. Fry over moderate heat about 20 minutes or until cheese melts and bottom is dark golden brown. During frying, shape and compress with spatula. Arrange anchovy fillets over top of cooked slices. Makes 8 servings.

Variation: Substitute 4 ounces salted cod roe for anchovies. While pizza is frying, slit open cod roe sac, peel off and discard membrane. When done, remove pizza from pan and spread 1/2 of roe over top.

PER SERVING: 227 calories; 13 gm protein; 11 gm carbohydrate; 15 gm fat; 662 mg sodium; 157 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 20% Riboflavin 10% Vitamin A 10% Niacin 06% Vitamin C 03% Calcium 25% Thiamine 04% Iron 07%

NICOISE PIZZA

1 package dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

1/3 cup oil

3 cups flour

8 ounces Jack cheese, shredded

1 large tomato, sliced

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (2-ounce) can anchovies, drained

10 Nicoise olives, pitted and halved

Basil leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and oil. Beat in flour vigorously. Knead briefly until smooth. Allow dough to rest.

Place dough in center of greased baking pan. Flatten and shape into 14-inch circle. Sprinkle dough with cheese. Top with tomato slices, remaining salt, pepper, anchovies, olives and basil. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 450 degrees 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

PER SERVING: 414 calories; 14 gm protein; 41 gm carbohydrate; 21 gm fat; 582 mg sodium; 178 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 22% Riboflavin 22% Vitamin A 10% Niacin 17% Vitamin C 08% Calcium 24% Thiamine 24% Iron 12%

PIZZA POT PIE

Oil

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 (14-ounce) can pizza sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

3 1/2 cups flour

1 package quick-rise yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups hot water (120 to 130 degrees)

8 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

Oil inside and outside of 4 (10-ounce) oven-proof soup bowls. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in skillet. Saute sausage until no longer pink. Remove meat and drain fat. Heat 2 teaspoons oil, saute onion and green pepper until tender. Stir in garlic, parsley, mushrooms, sauce, oregano, basil and cooked meat. Simmer uncovered over low heat 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Add water to flour mixture. Mix on high speed of electric mixer 3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl, if necessary. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and continue kneading 3 minutes. (If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour to make firm dough.) Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes.

While dough rises, line bowls with cheese slices and top with sauce. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out with rolling pin until large enough to hang over bowl’s edge by 2 inches. Top bowls with dough pot-pie fashion. Place bowls on baking sheet. Bake at 500 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Immediately flip pot pies using dinner plate on top of dough and carefully inverting pie. Loosen dough around edges with knife before removing bowl. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

PER SERVING: 1,120 calories; 55 gm protein; 116 gm carbohydrate; 47 gm fat; 2378 mg sodium; 642 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 85% Riboflavin 64% Vitamin A 11% Niacin 61% Vitamin C 35% Calcium 52% Thiamine 102% Iron 39%