Veggie Pizza

I’ve never been a huge pizza fan, mainly because most pies have ALL THAT CHEESE, which totally doesn’t work for me. Since I’ve found alternative cheeses that don’t make me sick I’ve been working my way back to slice or two every now and then. 

My favorite local place is Pizza Luce - they have great pizzas and vegan cheese and meat options. They have a soy cheese that I’m not crazy about but they also have a cashew cheese (they call it rinota) that is to die for and their vegan crumbles are noteworthy. 

Somedays I'm not excited about cooking - since the pandemic, I sometimes feel like it is endless and I need a break. However, I decided to make my own pie tonight. I started with a quick yeast dough and then raided the refrigerator and freezer for ingredients. I used a pesto base and then added artichokes, olives, onions, peppers, mushrooms and topped it off with vegan cheese. I have to say it was damn delicious and the absence of leftovers says Dan felt the same way. 

Pizza dough - ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 cup hot water (about 110–120 degrees)

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

2.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

Toppings:

Pesto - your favorite kind - I used 2 T vegan pesto that I made from our garden basil last fall

1 small onion - thinly sliced and sautéed in a small amount of oil to soften

1/2 yellow pepper

4 - thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms

8 - 10 cherry tomatoes - sliced

Marinated artichokes - sliced

10 - 12 Kalamata olives - cut in half 

vegan mozzarella 

Instructions:

Preheat oven and pizza stone in a 450-degree oven. 

Mix yeast, sugar, and hot water in a large bowl. Let stand 2-3 minutes until yeast begins to foam. Add olive oil and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir in 2 cups of the flour (you can use your hands for this OR you can use a sturdy spoon or spatula to bring the dough together).

Take a look at your dough. If it is still too wet, add the remaining flour 1/8 cup at a time and knead between each addition. The dough should pull itself into a ball as you stir but should still be slightly sticky to the touch. If the dough is too dry, add a splash of water or olive oil and stir or knead to work the liquid into the dough.

Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. (If you have more time, let it rest for up to an hour to develop more flavor).

While the dough is resting slice all vegetables and lightly saute onions, mushrooms, and peppers to soften. 

Turn dough onto a piece of floured parchment paper, dust the top with a sprinkle of flour, and roll or shape normally. Add toppings.

Carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and slide parchment paper (with pizza) onto the stone. Return to oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, cut, and eat.

Thanks for stopping by!