pizza

Vegan Pizza with Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers & Caramelized Onions

November 30, 2012 by Erica

It's Friday, and that means Pizza Night! Whenever I ask Nate what he wants for dinner this week, he says pizza. You'd think by now I'd get the hint and just make a pizza every week... but for some reason I keep asking. Maybe this time he'll request my favorite tahini kale rice bowl? No dice. Well, making a pizza every once in a while seems like the least I can do for the man who's forced to be my Vegan Guinea Pig the rest of the time. (I am still trying to dig my way out of the hole that a certain Hippie Bowl got me into a few months back.)

vegan pizza with mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and caramelized onions

So here is a pizza for Nate. If you're not vegan, by all means add some parmesan or goat cheese. (I put goat cheese on Nate's half, and a little bit just miiiiiight have rolled onto a few of my slices.) Even with no cheese, this pizza has great flavor! Use my whole grain pizza dough or your favorite crust. You could even use pesto and this mushroom mixture on pasta or a sandwich. It's hard to go wrong!

P.S. I'm kinda wimping out with the pesto here. I have a favorite vegan pesto that I make... but it deserves so much more than an out-of-season mention in a post that's really about pizza and features nighttime iPhone photos. I plan on featuring it in the spring! In the meantime, you can use your favorite pesto recipe, or (because I know many people who read this blog aren't vegan) use some store bought stuff.

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Vegan Pizza with Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers & Caramelized Onions

Hands-on time

5 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour

Yields 2 10-inch pizzas or 1 extra-large pizza

Author: Coffee & Quinoa

Yields: 6

Ingredients

1 recipe of my multi-grain pizza dough (link above) or 2 store-bought pizza doughs
olive oil
1 sweet onion, quartered and sliced
20 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms (I used 2 10-oz. pre-sliced bags)
2 red bell peppers
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
cornmeal
1/3 cup pesto (homemade or store bought)
parmesan or goat cheese (optional)

Instructions

First, roast your red peppers (or buy roasted red peppers in a jar and skip this step). Cut each pepper into 2-4 pieces and remove the stem, seeds and membrane. Place them, skin up, on a baking sheet and broil until skin is black and charred all over. This will take 6-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them after the first few minutes, and rotate the baking sheet partway through if your broiler has hot spots. Once the skins are charred all over, remove them from the oven, place them in a plastic bag, seal it, and let them steam for at least 20 minutes. Then remove from plastic bag and peel the skin off each piece with your fingers. It's OK to leave some charred bits. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
Preheat oven to 425.
Next, caramelize onions. Add a little bit of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Saute the onions for about 25 minutes. They should have some good color to them. At this point, add the sliced mushrooms. Continue sauteing another 5-7 minutes, until mushrooms are softening. Add balsamic vinegar and peppers and stir. Remove from heat.
Sprinkle cornmeal on 2 pizza pans or an 11x17 baking sheet. Roll your pizza dough out to fit whichever pan you've chosen.
If your pesto is not oily, brush a bit of olive oil over the crust. Then spread pesto out evenly. Top with mushroom mixture. Add cheese if you desire.
Put pizzas in the oven for 12 minutes, until crust is done and cheese, if using, is melted.
Slice and enjoy!

Roasted Fall Veggie Pizza with Balsamic and Rosemary

November 9, 2012 by Erica

Do you have some homemade pizza dough handy?

Oh good. Because tonight is pizza night!

And we’re starting with:

Rosemary. There is so much rosemary in my life lately.

It might have something to do with the stuffed peppers I made a few weeks ago that required only a teaspoon of rosemary. Really any recipe that calls for dried herbs (because when can you ever use more than a tiny bit?) guarantees that the rest of the packet will rot in my fridge and make me feel guilty until I throw it out weeks later. (In case you’re wondering: I feel the same way about green onions, Thai chili peppers, lemon halves, cilantro… the list goes on.) Anyway, I’ve made it my personal mission to get through that packet of rosemary. Hence this lovely cake (total success because it not only called for a whole tablespoon of rosemary, but I used another sprig for garnish) and now this fall-inspired pizza.

This pizza isn’t overwhelmingly rosemary-y, but the flavors do go nicely together! And especially when drizzled with some extra balsamic reduction, it is yummmmmy. I may have had a slice or two for breakfast the other day.

Have a great Friday!

Roasted Fall Veggie Pizza with Rosemary and Balsamic

Makes 2 medium-sized pizzas

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed butternut squash (1/2 inch pieces) – 1 small or ½ medium butternut squash
2 parsnips, cubed (about 2 cups)
½ red onion, chopped
½ lb fresh spinach, rinsed

1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp minced garlic (4 large cloves), divided
½ tsp black pepper

2 pizza doughs
cornmeal
balsamic reduction (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.

In a small bowl, whisk together the rosemary, balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp olive oil, honey, 1 Tbsp garlic, and black pepper.

Add the chopped butternut squash, parsnips and red onion to a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and stir to coat.

Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Spread out the vegetable mixture on the sheet and roast until tender but not mushy, about 25 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining ½ Tbsp olive oil and saute the spinach until tender. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle cornmeal on two pizza sheets and stretch out dough on top. Brush with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining garlic. Top with spinach and veggies when they are done roasting.

Bake pizza at 450 for 10-12 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Drizzle with optional balsamic reduction. Slice and serve!

Whole Grain Pizza Dough

November 8, 2012 by Erica

This is my favorite pizza dough.

You can always buy pre-made pizza dough in a bag at the grocery store, but it just doesn’t taste as good. Plus your friends will be impressed when you serve them pizza on homemade crust! They don’t know how easy it is. Shhhhh. Don’t tell.

The first time I ever used spelt flour was in this pizza dough. I was making the original Eat, Live, Run recipe and realized I was out of all-purpose flour. Emergency! I went digging around in my cabinets and found an unopened bag of spelt flour I must have bought to try out a forgotten recipe. Well, I was doubtful, but in it went! And it turned out amazing, and I’ve made it that way ever since. Crisis averted! Anyway, if you have a favorite whole grain flour (or just have all-purpose flour in your pantry), you can definitely sub that in here.

This dough is nice and chewy and gets golden and a little crispy in a hot oven. Go make it right now, because tomorrow I’m posting a fall pizza recipe perfect for a Friday Pizza Night!

Whole Grain Pizza Dough

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Makes 2 medium-sized pizza doughs

Ingredients:

1 ⅓ cup warm water
1 packet yeast (¼th oz)
2 tsp sea salt
1 ¾ cups spelt flour (or all-purpose or another whole grain flour)
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Combine warm water and yeast in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the salt and both types of flour. When the dough holds together, dump it onto a floured work surface and knead for 8 minutes, incorporating the olive oil a ½ Tbsp a time as you go. (You could also do this in a KitchenAid mixer, but I’ve never tried this way.)

When the dough is soft and elastic, rub with olive oil and place in a clean bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm spot for one hour.

After an hour, the dough should have about doubled in size. Cut in half and store in ziploc bags (either 1-2 days in the fridge or much longer than that in the freezer). I like to use one half immediately and freeze the other half for later – just defrost in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to make your pizza, sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza tray. Stretch out the dough, top with your favorite ingredients, and bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

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