Friday night pizza was always a tradition in my house growing up; a large cheesy New York pizza with the best toppings and usually a few garlic knots or “pizza rolls” made an appearance to close out the week. I wish we had pizza here like we do back home where I grew up in New York, I love living in Massachussetts but pizza, bagels and good delis are all things you just can’t replicate here. Lately, I have been picking up that tradition and making my own pizzas on our pizza stone as a little Friday evening treat. It’s no New York slice, but I experiment a bit each week and have been getting better at making a quality pizza at home. Last week I was scanning the fridge and doing a survey of leftover ingredients to see what I could make for a quick meal, and lots of my pizza toppings were stacked up begging for a little love.
Like most of ideas, I a little high-calorie light bulb went off above my head and I thought: what if I tossed all of my leftover pizza ingredients into a salad … and then added garlic knots on top to make sure it’s really not healthy at all. The only way you can get me to eat a salad is to make sure the lettuce and veggies are masked in cheese and come with a carb-y dipping side. It came out so tasty, topped with pepperoni and olives, peppers and onions, and chunks of provolone cheese. The garlic knots add a little extra oomph to the salad (and I snacked on a few extra on the side, because why not?). Get the full recipe below: 
- Pizza dough
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp of butter, melted
- Mixed greens
- Pepperoni, chopped
- Kalamata or black olives
- Provolone cheese, cubed
- Red pepper, thinly sliced
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian dressing or Oil and Vinegar
- Start by making the garlic knots; pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Melt butter and combine with chopped parsley and minced garlic.
- Break pizza dough into small balls, a little bit smaller than a golf ball, and roll in the garlic-butter mixture before placing into a baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until they turn gold brown, remove from oven and cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, assemble the salad by tossing pepperoni, olives, cheese, red pepper and onion with mixed greens.
- Top with a dusting of parmesan cheese, and serve with warm garlic knots and an Italian dressing of your choice.
