DIVINE CORN CRUST PIZZA:
CRUST:
1 ½ cups cornmeal
1 ½ cups white spelt flour
1 cup corn kernels
2 level tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
Approx. ½ cup water
NO MATO SAUCE:
½ onion – diced
3 carrots – scrubbed and diced
½ beet (or one if large)
Sea salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 shallot – minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
Sea salt and black pepper
TOPPINGS (to choose from)
Shitake or crimini mushrooms
Olives
Red, yellow, green peppers
Zucchini
Red onion
Broccoli (blanched)
Veggie or tofu sausage (thinly sliced)
Fresh basil
Crumbled tofu, mixed with
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. tamari
To make the crust, combine the cornmeal, spelt flour and corn kernels (I like to put them in a food processor or blender first and break them up), baking powder and salt in a bowl and add the water and olive oil. Mix well so that it comes together and forms a dough and transfer to a floured work surface. Knead for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
Cover and set the dough aside as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
TO MAKE THE NO-MATO SAUCE:
combine the onion, carrots and beets in a saucepan and add enough water to just cover the veggies and a big pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
While the veggies are cooking, heat 1 Tbs. oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic and shallot and a big pinch of sea salt. Saute for a minute or so then add the oregano and continue to sauté until the veggies are soft and translucent.
When the carrot and beet is done, puree it in a blender, adding enough of the cooking water to get a thick sauce consistency. Add the blended mixture to the shallot and stir it in. Add black pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 375 deg. (190 Deg. C, Gas Mark 5)
Oil a pizza pan or baking sheet.
Divide the pizza dough in half and roll out each half into a big circle and transfer it to a pizza pan. You can decoratively crimp the edges. I usually just roll it out a bit and then transfer it to the pan and continue to press it into the desired shape – circle or rectangle.
Prick the dough all over with a fork and bake for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and top with sauce and your choice of toppings. I like to make two different pizzas so there’s a choice. Return to oven for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
Variatons:
- You can use other flour such as whole wheat pastry flour or for a gluten free version, rice or oat flour in place of the spelt.
- Instead of ‘no-mato sauce’, you can top with pesto and veggies – this is one of my favorite variations. I make my own pesto with 2 cups fresh basil, 1 cup parsley, 1/3 cup pine nuts or almonds, 6 Tbs. olive oil, 1 clove garlic and sea salt to taste all buzzed in a blender or food processor.
- I like to have a little goat cheese occasionally so you could use that instead of the tofu, or if you do like a little dairy once in a while, you can use grated mozzarella.
VEGGIE CASHEW CRUMBLE:
1 garnet yam
1 white sweet potato
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 leek
Small head broccoli
Sauce:
2 cups water
2/3 cup raw cashews
1 Tbs. white miso
1 tsp. umeboshi plum vinegar
Topping:
1 ½ cups breadcrumbs
½ cup ground almonds
1/3 cup minced parsley
1 tsp. minced sage
1 tsp. minced thyme
¼ tsp. sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
Prepare your veggies – peel and dice yam and sweet potato. Cut zucchini and carrot into thick diagonal slices then cut into thick julienne strips. Slice leek into diagonal slices, place in a bowl, cover with water and swirl with your hand so that any dirt or grit will fall to the bottom and lift out into a colander or onto paper towel. Cut broccoli into small flowerettes and peel and slice the stalk.
Put about 2/3 cup water into a saucepan and add a large pinch sea salt. Add sweet potato and carrot, cover and simmer for about 3 – 4 minutes. Add zucchini and leek and broccoli stalks and continue to simmer until veggies are soft – about 7 minutes. Add broccoli flowerettes and cook for a further 2 minutes.
While veggies are cooking, prepare your sauce and topping.
Sauce: Puree all the sauce ingredients in a blender until creamy. Put the liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened. Taste test and add more seasoning if necessary.
Topping: In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, almonds, herbs, sea salt and drizzle with the olive oil, mixing well.
Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.
Pour sauce over the veggies in pan and mix it in gently, without breaking up the softer vegetables. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle the crumble on top.
Put into the oven for about 15 minutes, until the crumble is nice and browned on top. Alternatively you can turn on the broiler and put under the broiler at least 6 inches away from heat source and brown the crumbs.
Variations:
- This is an excellent clean out your fridge dish as any combination of veggies can be used. I love the sweet flavor of the sweet potatoes but sweet squash such as butternut or kabocha can be used as well as onion, celery, corn, turnip, daikon radish or whatever you have available. Just remember to start with the more dense veggies that take longer to cook.
- You can season the sauce with sea salt and a little black pepper instead of the white miso and umeboshi vinegar. In this case I would add a little lemon zest to the sauce for flavor.
- You could also add a little garlic or some Thai chili paste for a different twist.
- Instead of cashew milk, you could use coconut milk. Simmer the coconut milk with the seasonings and add 1 Tbs. kuzu or arrowroot to thicken then pour over the veggies. If using coconut milk, try adding 1 tsp. Thai curry paste to the sauce in place of the miso. In this case, use fresh coriander and some lemon or lime zest in the crumble topping instead of the herbs.
- I used a gluten free rice bread for my crumbs because I happened to have it in my fridge and it’s a dense bread that crumbles easily. You could use wheat or spelt bread – the drier and more dense the bread is the better for crumbling. For the topping you can season to your own personal taste. You could add a little fresh grated parmesan cheese or other herbs or spices of your choice.