Plant-Based Pizza

At least twice a month, we have Pizza Night at our house. It's easy for us to throw together chopped veggies (we like to use bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and olives, and sometimes, we even add pineapple chunks!),  a quick pizza sauce*, use Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough for the crust, and top with homemade vegan parmesan**. I heard that Engine 2 is coming out with an oil-free crust soon (will be available at Whole Foods), so we may move to using that crust.

The key to successful pizza is baking them in a HOT oven. We set ours to 550 degrees (the highest it will go). They cook pretty fast, maybe only 7-8 minutes. ALSO,  we purchased personal-sized, non-stick pans that you can find at Amazon.com so everyone can make their own. The pizzas slip right off the pans, making cleanup super easy.

*Easy Oil-Free Pizza Sauce:
One 28-oz. can of organic crushed tomatoes with basil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
pepper to taste
1 T of ketchup (optional, if you like your sauce a bit sweeter)

In a medium saucepan, cook the garlic for one minute in a tablespoon of the tomatoes. Add the rest of the tomatoes and seasonings (and ketchup, if using)  and warm for at least 10 minutes before putting on pizza dough.

or

Smoky Sundried Tomato Pizza Sauce:
1/4 C of raw cashews, soaked in cold water for 2 hours or more
1/2 C. of smoked sundried tomatoes (in a bag not in oil), soaked in cold water for at least 30 minutes
¼-1/2 t  salt
Black pepper to taste
1 small clove of garlic
A sprig of fresh basil – 3 or 4 leaves
Water

Drain off the water from the cashews and the sun dried tomatoes.
Blend all ingredients in the Vitamix, adding water to desired consistency


**Vegan Parmesan Cheese in Vitamix:
1 cup of slivered blanched almonds
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
½-¾ t. salt

Pulse in blender until desired consistency, but do not overblend.