by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
The Oxford English Dictionary defines pizza as “A savoury dish of Italian origin, consisting of a flat, often spherical base of dough, baked with a topping of tomatoes, cheese, and any of assorted different components, resembling meat, anchovies, or olives. Though tomatoes and cheese are the commonest toppings, on some sorts of pizza one or each of those could also be absent.”
My eager about pizza is extra wide-ranging – pizza is a base of dough which is topped with no matter you select to high it with. A few 12 months in the past, I challenged myself to make (or not less than eat) a distinct vegan pizza every month, utilizing seasonal greens and fruits as a lot as doable.
Right here’s my 12 months of vegan pizzas:
In January, I made 2 pizzas. One was topped with do-it-yourself pesto from the freezer and the opposite with business crimson sauce. Each featured a mixture of sautéed mushrooms (shiitake, king trumpet, black trumpet, hedgehog, tree oyster, and lion’s mane) sautéed in a bit olive oil, roasted butternut squash, and shredded Italian mix vegan cheese.
February’s pizza was topped with pesto from the freezer, sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed cremini mushrooms, roasted butternut squash, and slices of sautéed vegan Italian sausage.
In March, the pizza consisted of a business crimson sauce, steamed broccolini, roasted crimson pepper, sautéed child Bella mushrooms, and do-it-yourself vegan cashew Mozzarella cheese.
April’s pizza featured spring greens – sugar snap peas, broccolini, and arugula, together with sautéed mushrooms and shredded vegan cheese. The sauce was a lemon crème cashew sauce.
Might’s pizza spotlighted recent native asparagus, frivolously steamed and used to high a pizza dough unfold with peanut sauce. Chickpeas and crimson pepper slices additionally made an look.
In June, the pizza was topped with a business vegan roasted crimson pepper unfold and showcased roasted zucchini, inexperienced pepper, crimson onions, and cremini mushrooms.
With July and sizzling climate, the pizza crust was prebaked after which topped with vegan bitter cream (made with silken tofu, dill, and parsley), sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, and capers.
In August, the pizza celebrated native peaches with a topping of sliced peaches, recent basil, and vegan Mozzarella shreds all baked in a forged iron skillet.
For September, the pizza crust was made with a combination of all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, and cornmeal. It was topped with a cilantro/tomato sauce, sautéed peppers and crimson onions, and vegan chorizo.
October’s pizza had a white bean unfold made with white beans, recent dill, and tahini. It was topped with sautéed cabbage and onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and vegan Mozzarella shreds.
November’s pizza was bought from a vegan pizzeria.
The 12 months ended with December’s pizza – a do-it-yourself vegan cheese sauce, balsamic vinegar-caramelized crimson onions, shredded Brussels sprouts, and vegan Parmesan shreds.
Right here’s my go-to pizza crust recipe:
Makes one pizza
1 cup heat water
2¼ teaspoon energetic dry yeast
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
Put heat water in a big bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand 5 minutes. It ought to look foamy and bubbly. If it doesn’t, the yeast is simply too previous to make use of.
Combine in each flours and salt. Knead dough for 10 minutes. Form right into a ball and place into an oiled bowl to rise. Cowl and let rise in a heat spot about an hour. It ought to be about double in dimension.
Preheat the oven to 425 levels.
Punch the dough down and gently stretch it right into a 12-inch spherical or different form of your alternative on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes.
