Italian-inspired Pizzas with Lemon Meringue Pie for Dessert

These Italian-inspired pizzas are easy and fun to make for dinner, and are absolutely delicious

When I found out a few of my girlfriends hadn’t seen the great little romcom The Proposal, I invited them over for dinner and a movie, and was happy to watch it again for the fourth time.

Inspired by an absolutely incredible dinner my husband and I recently had at CinCin, an Italian restaurant with a wood-fired oven, I decided to make Italian-inspired pizzas for dinner and search out some of the spectacular wines we had at CinCin to accompany our pizzas. 

I unfortunately wasn’t able to find any of the reds we had with our dinner at CinCin, but a very helpful fellow at the Yaletown BC Liquor Store suggested two alternatives that were quite good: the Ricossa Barbaresco, $21.99, and the Masi Valpolicella Classico Superiore, $16.99. To my great delight, and very fittingly, my friend Michele tracked down the delightful wine we’d had for dessert at CinCin, the Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato D’Asti, $17.99.

The last piece of leftover lemon merignue pie from the foodie behind Crass Cuisine

We were all very fortunate to get to try one of the knock-your-socks-off pie creations from my friend Jessica, food blogger extraordinaire. She’s been on a pie kick lately and we got to try her first-ever lemon meringue pie.

Playing host certainly had its benefits as I got to have the leftover pie for lunch the next day (which I begrudgingly shared with my husband). Check out Jessica’s food blog, Crass Cuisine, for her coconut cream pie recipe (if you’re offended by crass language, consider this your warning). 

We made four kinds of pizza – margarita, Italian sausage with sauteed onions and mushrooms, prosciutto with olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach with feta and white sauce – which were set up in four make-your-own-pizza stations. They were Italian-inspired rather than Italian pizzas because I cut corners on the shells and used store-bought whole wheat pitas instead of making pizza dough from scratch, and I also used tomato paste instead of making homemade pizza sauce. 

Based on Canada’s Food Guide recommendations, each pizza serves 1.

Margarita Pizza

Ingredients (per pizza)

• 1 whole wheat pita
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 strawberry tomatoes, halved
• 1.5 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into small pieces
• 2 large basil leaves, torn into pieces

Instructions

1. Smear pita with tomato paste.
2. Top with tomatoes, basil and mozza.
3. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for 13 minutes.

Italian Sausage with Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms Pizza

Ingredients (per pizza)

• 1 whole wheat pita
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2.5 oz Italian sausage
• 2 tbsp white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp onion, thinly sliced 
• Olive oil and butter
• Pinch thyme
• Pinch garlic powder
• Pinch pepper
• 1 oz grated mozzarella
• 0.5 oz Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook sausage in frying pan over medium heat, squeezing meat out of casings before adding to pan and breaking into small pieces.
2. In separate frying pan, heat just enough olive oil and butter to coat bottom of pan.
3. Add mushrooms and cook until brown, stirring occasionally. Remove to separate bowl.
4. Add more olive oil and butter to pan and cook onions until they begin to brown, stirring often.
5. Add mushrooms back to pan and season with thyme, garlic and pepper, stirring well to combine.
6. Smear pita with tomato paste.
7. Top with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and cheeses.
8. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for 13 minutes.

Prosciutto with Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes Pizza

Ingredients (per pizza)

• 1 whole wheat pita
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2.5 oz prosciutto, chopped
• 3 pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato, chopped
• 1 oz grated mozzarella
• 0.5 oz Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Smear pita with tomato paste.
2. Top with prosciutto, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheeses.
3. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for 13 minutes.

Spinach with Feta and White Sauce Pizza

Ingredients (per pizza)

• 1 whole wheat pita
• 1/2 cup spinach, chopped
• 0.75 oz feta cheese, chopped
• 0.75 oz grated mozzarella
• 2 tbsp white sauce (recipe makes about 1 cup)
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup milk 

Instructions

1. In small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together butter and flour.
2. Add nutmeg and garlic powder.
3. Whisking constantly, slowly add about 1 cup milk, until sauce has a nice pudding-like consistency.
4. Smear pita with 2 tbsp white sauce.
5. Top with spinach and cheeses.
6. Bake in pre-heated 350F oven for 13 minutes.