stranger than paradise: pizza with goat cheese, spinach and figs

I really should make pizza all the time. It’s so easy and it’s utterly delicious. Unfortunately, it’s those same reasons why it’s best to show restraint. A lot of pizza really isn’t that good of a thing, if you know what I mean.

I made this pizza earlier in the month when my fridge still had leftovers of holiday-type ingredients like goat cheese and figs and fancy hams.Salty, sweet and fan-freakin’-tastic, this pizza tasted better than anything I could have imagined. It’s the kind of pizza I could eat everyday. In fact, both Cornelius and I inhaled the pizza in just one sitting. I remember the night well. We had a library-borrowed Criterion edition of my favorite Jim Jarmusch film on the tv (Stranger Than Paradise) and a couple glasses of a really nice red. Perfect.

The only wrench was in the making of the pizza dough which I found via Smitten Kitchen. Not that it turned out badly, it didn’t. In fact, the final product was lovely and as close to perfect as any I’ve made in the past. But the making of it? A total bitch. It seemed so wrong, despite the fact that I made it in my Kitchen Aid mixer. The dough was more granite than elastic and it took my mixer for quite a thumpity-thump ride across my counter-top. But I let it rise a few hours and then I put it in the fridge overnight because I didn’t trust it as it had given me such grief. But it all panned out in the end. The pizza dough tasted great, but I don’t think I’ll try that recipe again. Instead, I’ll fall back on my old standby or try out something new for kicks.

30 comments to “stranger than paradise: pizza with goat cheese, spinach and figs”

  1. 1
    VeggieGirl   January 20, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    Looks stunning!! I adore spinach & figs 🙂

  2. 2
    Miss Kate   January 20, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Spinach? Goat cheese? Figs?

    *faints*

    Yet another reason to love pizza.

  3. 3
    Shannon   January 20, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    what an AMAZING combination of flavors… i’d love a slice 🙂 or two!

  4. 4
    Bijoux   January 20, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    Wow! I’m impressed with this non-traditional approach to pizza toppings. Where on earth did you find figs in the middle of winter? Figs and cheese is an awesome combination, especially when teamed with goat cheese or feta cheese. I’ve yet to re-create the apple and cheddar pizza you posted about a while back. Now I have another variation to add to my list of add-ons to try. Decisions…decisions 🙂

  5. 5
    hag   January 20, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    yummy! that looks and sounds great… all my fav’s . Pizza is great… but I also don’t make it as often due to the same reasons as you.

    I saw a thing on a Jacques Pepin show where he made pizza with lavash bread… even easier!

  6. 6
    Aimée   January 20, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    I’ve got a sweeeeeet pizza dough with honey and olive oil in it if you’re interested. 🙂

  7. 7
    Hayley   January 20, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    I’ve been wanting to try figs on my pizza, and now I know it’s not a crazy idea. Thanks for sharing!

  8. 8
    Culinary Wannabe   January 21, 2009 at 4:16 am

    The combination of toppings sounds sooo good. I love making pizza, but I’m such a wimp and usually just grab dough from the local pizza joint.

  9. 9
    Daily Spud   January 21, 2009 at 5:38 am

    Figs and goats cheese? Well that’s a winner right there. Actually I find it hard to resist just about anything involving goats cheese. One of my favourites.

  10. 10
    Bellini Valli   January 21, 2009 at 6:46 am

    I tried a goat cheese and potato pizza over the weekend which satified my weekly carb intake. Yours has a marriage of wonderful flavours!!

  11. 11
    Bijoux   January 21, 2009 at 7:11 am

    Jennie: In response to your question about which season you can find fresh figs…I usually spot them at my local grocer in late August and early September, sometimes you might still see them at some gourmet markets in October too. I’m still wondering how kickpleat found hers in January!!

  12. 12
    Dawn   January 21, 2009 at 7:54 am

    Whoa! Now that’s a pizza. I love this combo.
    I don’t know if you have a Whole Foods near you, but if you’re ever in a pinch for good dough they have the best I’ve found.

  13. 13
    kickpleat   January 21, 2009 at 9:08 am

    thanks veggiegirl! it’s a great combo

    miss kate, who needs another reason? 🙂

    ttfn300, me too!

    bijoux, i changed the recipe to mention dried figs! i’ve never had a fresh fig in my life (but i’m not really a fan of fruit or figs generally).

    hag, that would be so easy to use lavash bread!

    mmm, aimee, definitely! i’ll check out your site!

    hayley, it’s definitely not a crazy idea at all.

    jennie, use dried figs which is what i did and they work wonderfully!

    culinary, it is a great combo i think! also, i don’t think your a wimp….it’s smart to grab your dough from a pizza joint or bakery (that’s what i used to do!)

    daily spud, i was spurred on after making some goat cheese stuffed figs for the holidays. the combo works really well on pizza!

    thanks bellini 🙂

    dawn, there is a new whole foods opening up relatively close by. i’m excited to check it out! thanks for the tip!

  14. 14
    Jennie   January 21, 2009 at 1:34 am

    Oh yum! Looove the figgies. Have been making spinach, goat cheese, artichoke pizzas lately, like there’s no tomorrow, but will def. throw some figs on if I can get my hands on some. I can never figure out when they’re in season – haven’t seen any for months here.

  15. 15
    Foodista   January 21, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    Here’s one combination I can’t wait to try!

    I’d like to invite you to take some time to drop by at Foodista. We have launched an online food and cooking encyclopedia ala wikipedia where you can contribute and share what you know about food and cooking techniques(and this pizza recipe too)

    We also have a small embeddable widget that will help you build traffic from Foodista-related pages. This will explain how the widget works. Thanks

  16. 16
    kaitlin   January 21, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    Figs and goat cheese and PIZZA!! It just makes sense when you put it that way. Looks figilicious.

  17. 17
    eatme_delicious   January 22, 2009 at 7:05 am

    Mmm that pizza looks delicious. I always want to eat pizza.

  18. 18
    kickpleat   January 22, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    kaitlin, it’s a good mix. definitely figgydelish!

    thanks foodista!

    who doesn’t, eatme? i love it.

  19. 19
    Sarena Shasteen   January 22, 2009 at 1:52 pm

    Well, it looks delicious! I love homemade pizza because I know it is safe to eat (no dairy) and so good! It is hard to stray from a tried and true recipe! I have perfected a quick fat free dough that our family loves. I will have to give the spinach a fig combination a try!

  20. 20
    Cakespy   January 22, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    Oh holy crap that looks good. Goat cheese to boot. I can’t eat mozzarella so this is 100% perfect!!

  21. 21
    CookiePie   January 22, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    YUM- what a fabulous flavor combo!!

  22. 22
    kickpleat   January 22, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    sarena, i’m sure you’d love it! we practically inhaled it 🙂

    cakespy, this is tasty!

    thanks cookiepie 🙂

  23. 23
    Mari   January 23, 2009 at 6:24 am

    Pizza is my number one favorite food. PERIOD. This one looks like heaven! I love pizzas composed of leftovers!

  24. 24
    Kevin   January 23, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    This pizza sounds good!

  25. 25
    kickpleat   January 24, 2009 at 11:53 am

    mev, leftovers can be the best! resourcefulness is highly underrated.

    kevin, the pizza is amazing.

  26. 26
    Nicole   January 24, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    I made this tonight!
    It was a WONDERful recipe!!
    Thanks for sharing!

  27. 27
    kickpleat   January 29, 2009 at 10:01 am

    nicole, glad you made this & loved it 🙂

    thanks merry for stopping by 🙂

  28. 28
    merry   January 29, 2009 at 5:15 am

    I don’t want to repeat what every one else has said – so ditto.

  29. 29
    Amy J   February 7, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    Yum, that looks amazing!

  30. 30
    kickpleat   February 11, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    thanks amy, it sure was delicious!

Leave a comment