Sourdough Pizza with Pineapple and Tempeh Bacon

Some days the pizza craving just latches on and doesn't go away. Today I needed pizza. There was no choice in the matter.

I made all of the components of this pizza from scratch, so it is a reasonably complicated, yet easy recipe. But I promise, you will not be disappointed. The flavours are rich and wholesome, and there is something very special about eating something you've created so carefully.

 

For the cheese:

Ingredients:

1 large potato (or two small ones) peeled and diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1/4 white onion,  chopped into 4
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs tapioca flour
1 heaped tsp xanthan gum
1 tbs lemon juice
1-2 tsp salt

In a small pot, boil the potato in about 2 cups of water. After 2 minutes, add the carrot. After a further 5 minutes add the onion and leave to boil until the vegetables are all soft (about another 5-8 minutes). Place the veggies in a blender and add 1 1/2 cups of the left over water. Add all the other ingredients except the xanthan gum and blend until smooth. Taste the mixture at this point, and if necessary add more salt or nutritional yeast until the cheese flavour is strong enough. Lastly, add the xanthan gum while blending at high speed. The cheese will quickly form a ball in the blender. Place in a container and allow to set in the fridge.

This will make enough cheese for about 4 pizzas, but its great to keep in the fridge for other dishes if you don't plan to make more than 1 pizza. 

For the tomato base:

3 small tomatoes per pizza
1 tsp mixed Italian dry herbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 cups boiling water
1 small pot ice water

Place the tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. After 3 minutes, drain and place the tomatoes in the ice water. The skin will loosen and you can easily peel them with your hands. Dice the peeled tomatoes, and cook on high heat with the herbs, garlic and chilli until reduced to a thick sauce.

For the base:

Ingredients:

1 cup rejuvelac (I follow this recipe)
1 1/2 - 2 cups self raising flour
4 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until the dough forms a ball. You will need to add more or less flour to get the correct consistency, but I found that I needed at least two cups to get it to be dry enough. Leave the dough to stand for 30 minutes, then press the dough onto a wax paper lined tray to form the shape of your pizza base. The dough is quite sticky, so I used a fair amount of flour as I was shaping the base to stop it from sticking to my hands.

Pre-bake the base at 200 degrees C until it just starts to brown slightly on the edges. Then turn it over and allow the other side to brown slightly as well. This will stop the pizza from getting soggy.

To make the pizza:

Topppings:

1/4 queen pineapple, sliced into small pieces
40g tempeh, cubed and marinated for 15 mins in 2 tbs light soy sauce, 2 tsp liquid smoke and 1 tsp brown sugar
Fresh rocket
homemade tomato base
homemade vegan cheese

Smear the tomato all over the pre-baked pizza base. Spoon dollops of the cheese around the pizza and add the pineapple and tempeh. Place under the grill at 220 - 250 degrees C until golden. Serve with fresh rocket.

Enjoy and have a happy week everyone! xxx

Almost Raw Pizza

This was an accidental pizza.

The base was originally intended to be a loaf of sprouted bread, but it's fate changed and this beauty was born. A sprouted lentil and buckwheat base with all raw toppings: glorious.

Ingredients:

For the base:

1 cup sprouted buckwheat
1 cup sprouted lentils
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tbs nutritional yeast

Buckwheat sprouts aren't generally available in stores, so I grew my own. I have a sprouting kit, but there are many ways to grow them using what you have at home. For instance, I have heard that you can put your 'seeds' in a sieve over a pot and they will sprout. The key to sprouting is to rinse them often (about twice daily) and to let them drain well. There is a tonne of information on sprouting here.  

Place the sprouts in a medium sized bowl and use a stick blender to blend into a smooth-ish paste. Add the nutritional yeast and salt and mix in with a spoon. Grease a non-stick pizza tray with a little coconut oil and spoon the mixture in the middle. Rub some coconut oil on your hands and press the dough into a pizza base. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for approximately 20 minutes, then flip using a spatula. Bake for a further 20 minutes until it is crisp and brown on each side.

For the cheese:

100g raw cashews
1/4 cup soy milk or water
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp himalayan salt

Place all the ingredients in a bowl (a cereal bowl is big enough) and blend with a stick blender. I pulse it until most of it is a paste and then I sort of push the ingredients in a circle around the bowl to make sure everything is well blended. You can add more or less liquid for a firm cream cheese or a softer sour cream texture.  

Toppings:

sliced avo
sliced tomato
garlic stuffed green olives
dried italian herbs
fresh oregano
salt + pepper

 Of course with pizza you could do anything with the toppings. I used what I had around the kitchen and it turned out fabulously. I just used small dollops of the cashew cheese as it is quite rich and flavoursome, but you could spread it over the base if you wanted more coverage.

xxx