PIZZA: vegan style.

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I LOVE pizza…and as someone who’s been told by several holistic practitioners that it would be in my best interest to avoid dairy and gluten… you can bet I miss it! I’ve never been able to completely get rid of gluten or dairy from my diet, but I do try to use less of these things and substitute a variety of different things in their places.

This week I experimented with making a cheese-less pizza. I used hummus (sun-dried tomato flavor) as the sauce (to add a little bit of protein and creaminess to the pie) and then used toppings like long peeled slices of zucchini, arugula, diced red bell peppers artichokes, fresh herbs from the garden and smoked paprika…which made the pizza hearty and flavorful, but light at the same time. 

Once baked, I couldn’t resist adding a little fresh parmesan to the top:), but you could also add goat’s milk feta or soy cheese instead. Your options are limitless!

PIZZA: vegan style.

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups hummus
• 2 cups arugula, washed and dried
• 2 cups zucchini, washed and peeled into long strips with a potato peeler
• 1/2 cup, red bell pepper, washed and diced
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, to drizzle on top
• I 14- 16 in pizza crust (gluten free of regular)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, thyme and oregano, washed and finely chopped (if you use dried herbs, 1 tsp total of these herbs should be plenty)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, to sprinkle on top
• 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, to sprinkle on top
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, to sprinkle on top

DIRECTIONS for cooking

1. Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees F.
2. Place pizza crust on pizza pan/ baking sheet.
3. Spread hummus all over crust.
4. Top with arugula, zucchini peeled strips and red peppers.
5. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top.
6. Drizzle olive oil evenly over entire pizza.
7. Finish by sprinkling smoked paprika, salt and pepper on top.
8. Bake for 20 minutes (keep an eye on temperature, depending on the type of crust you use)
9. Optional: Garnish with crumbled feta, parmesan or shredded soy cheese.