Balsamic Mushroom Goat Cheese Pizza with Spinach

Yields: 6 slices

Ingredients

1 pizza dough for a 12-inch pizza (I used the cast iron pizza dough recipe from The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook)
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
For the mushrooms:
3 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
For the toppings:
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese
sprinkle of sea salt
For finishing:
1 tablespoon good thick balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Heat oven to 550 degrees. Prepare the dough for topping as instructed.

Brush the olive oil evenly onto the dough. Sprinkle with minced garlic.

To prepare the mushrooms:

Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to get hot, add the mushrooms. Leave them in the pan undisturbed until browned on one side, about 2 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To top the pizza:

Sprinkle on 2/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Evenly distribute the mushrooms and spinach. Sprinkle the other 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese followed by the crumbled goat cheese. Season the top of the pizza with sea salt.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow the pizza to cool 3 minutes before slicing. Slice into 6 slices. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve with more red pepper flakes (optional).