Fit for Life Pizza
Submitted by kellyziarko
Fit for Life Pizza: a dairy-free, cheese-less pizza on a whole wheat and white flour crust, topped with roasted eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions over pesto, finished with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and fresh basil. Hearty, Mediterranean-style vegan pizza night.
YIELD
1 pizzaPREP
30 minCOOK
15 minREADY
45 minThis is pizza for people who want real substance without the dairy. The crust blends whole wheat pastry flour with white flour for a chewy but tender base, and the toppings lean all the way into the garden: sliced eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion all get grilled in the oven before the pizza gets assembled.
Pre-grilling the vegetables is the step that sets this apart. Raw eggplant and zucchini sweat water as they cook, which would drench a pizza and turn the crust into wet bread. Roasting them first drives off that water and concentrates their flavors, so they sit on top like something that already earned its place.
Instead of tomato sauce, the crust gets brushed with pesto, which brings garlic and fresh basil front and center. Sun-dried tomatoes, sliced fresh tomato, chopped olives, and more basil finish the top for layers of salty, tart, and herbal punch.
Pro Tips
- Slice eggplant and zucchini thin, about ⅛ inch, so they cook through in the short pre-grill without going limp.
- Brush all the vegetable slices with garlic oil before pre-grilling for even seasoning.
- Use a pizza stone or heavy cookie sheet preheated in the oven, crust needs contact with a hot surface to crisp on the bottom.
- Dust the cookie sheet with cornmeal as directed, it acts like tiny ball bearings and prevents sticking.
- Watch the pizza closely after 12 minutes, every oven bakes differently at 500°F (260°C) and the crust edges go from brown to burnt in under a minute.
Variations
- Add sliced roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts for more Mediterranean flavors.
- Sprinkle with vegan parmesan, nutritional yeast, or real fresh mozzarella if dairy isn’t off limits.
- Swap pesto for hummus or romesco for a different flavor base.
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, combine yeast and half a cup of each of the flours.
Stir in hot water and olive oil.
Stir in additional half cup of each of the flours and salt to taste, if desired.
Knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour if dough remains too sticky.
Knead for at elast 5 minutes.
Cover dough and allow to rest while you prepare filling.
Preheat oven to 500℉.
Lightly oil tow cookie sheets with olive oil.
Arrange eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion slices on cookie sheet.
Combine rfeamining olive oil with crushed garlic and brush sliced vegetables well.
Place in oven and grill for 5 minutes.
While vegetables are grilling, flour work surface and roll dough or for a change of pace, roll dough into a thin rectangle to fit a Brush cookie sheet or pan lightly with olive oil and dust with corn meal. Tansfer dough to baking pan. Remove grilled vegetables from oven. Brush crust generously with pesto. Layer vegetables on pesto, beginning with eggplant slices, topping with zucchini, and then adding mushrooms and onion rings. Top with sun dried tomatoes. Add slices of fresh tomato. Sprinkle with chopped olives, fresh or dry basil and oregano. Place pizza on bottom rack of 500℉ oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, ur until crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven and cut into slices or squares.
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