Gourmet Veggie Pizza

I’ve always been a fan of pizza, but this particular pizza stands apart from all the rest. Here are the top 5 reasons that this pizza rocks: 1) It has pizza sauce baked into the crust — how cool is that? 2) You don’t have to wait for the dough to rise — saves time that can be used to eat more pizza. 3) It has pesto on it — pesto makes everything taste good. 4) The toppings are fun to arrange like decorations on a cake — if you’re into that (and I am). 5) It is bursting with delicious flavor — need I say more? Now go make some pizza!

Here’s what you need:

For the Pesto:

• 1/2 cup walnuts  (chopped and toasted)
• 3 cups packed basil leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

For the Tofu Cheese:

• 1 lb firm tofu, pressed
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

For the Crust:

• 3 cups stone ground whole wheat flour
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup Sucanat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash of black pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 (15 oz) can pizza sauce (I use Eden Organic)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

For the Toppings:

• 1 organic eggplant (any shape you fancy)
• 1 bunch organic broccolini
• 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup sliced mushroom
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1/3 cup organic pizza sauce (Eden Organic)

Make the Pesto:

1. Throw the pesto ingredients into a food processor and blend until it becomes a grainy paste. Place pesto in fridge until ready to assemble pizza.

Make the Tofu Cheese:

1. In a large bowl mush the tofu into crumbs. add lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and basil. Mush with hands and squeeze through fingers until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese.
2. Add the olive oil and nutritional yeast with a fork. Cover and put into fridge until ready to use.

Make the Crust:

1. Lightly grease your pizza pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together, set aside. Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients, mix until the dough sticks together. On a lightly floured surface knead until a soft dough forms. Divide into two pieces,  shape into two pizzas and place on your prepared pizza pan.

Prepare Your Toppings:

1. Slice the eggplant into thin pieces. Saute over medium heat with a dab of olive oil until tender, flipping once halfway through the cook time (about 4 minutes each side.)
2. Cut the broccolini into small pieces and saute with a dab of olive oil until tender, keeping it covered (about 5 minutes.)

Make Your Pizza:

1. Lightly coat the crust with pizza sauce. Add dollops of pesto and tofu cheese in an alternating pattern.
2. Arrange the eggplant, broccolini, mushrooms, onions and olives on your pizza.
3. Bake for 14 minutes. If you aren’t using a pizza stone, then place your pan directly on the bottom of your oven to prevent the crust from getting soggy.

Did you try this recipe? Share how you liked it below…