Pizza & Pesto

For my birthday dinner last night I went the Italian route with Bruschetta for the appetizer and for the main course, Gnocchi (which recipe I will be posting soon, it's just a particularly detailed and labor intensive recipe so I've been procrastinating). I topped my Gnocchi with sauteed zucchini, squash, onion, and most importantly a homemade vegan pesto. I made a large batch so that I would have plenty extra for the week. It worked fabulous as a spread on my veggie sandwiches this week, and the kids loved it on their whole wheat penne this week, but the outcome that I'm most excited about is the whole wheat pesto pizza! I seriously think I'll be making this at least once a week- it was that good...and my husband sure hopes I keep my word on that one.  The recipe will make 2 large pizzas, but let me warn you that after feeding 6 hungry people (2 of them being tiny children) there were zero leftovers. I always thought making pizza crust was an all day affair, but in reality you only need to start the dough about 2 hours before you're ready to eat to allow for rising time. 

So for the pesto, which is super versatile, you'll just puree in a blender or food processor:

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 c pine nuts

4 c fresh basil

juice from half a small lemon

1/3 c olive oil

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

salt & pepper

For the crust you'll need:

1 1/2 c warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp of honey

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 c whole wheat flour

1 c all-purpose flour plus 1/2 c extra for dusting work surface

Directions: 

Dissolve honey in the warm water, then sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes (until foamy).

Stir olive oil and salt into yeast mixture, then mix in your wheat and all-purpose flour until a dough forms.

Flour a clean surface with the extra 1/2 c all purpose flour then begin kneading for about 5-10 minutes until a smooth ball of dough is formed.

Place the ball of dough in a well oiled bowl, and cover loosely with a towel. Let sit until dough doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Once doubled then split your dough in half, and form into 2 tight balls of dough. Return them to separate oiled bowls covered loosely with a towel for another 45 minutes, until balls double in size again.

Roll them out and shape them on the floured surface. You can stretch the crust further by rotating it over fists. Once you get desired size place them on pizza stone or oiled pizza pan and fold the edges to form crust.

Like my pathetic excuse for a circle?!

Now for the fun and easy part. TOP THAT PIZZA WITH ALL YOUR FAVORITES!

Make sure your oven is preheated to 425.

Spread pesto (or sauce of choice)

I then added spinach, chopped green peppers, chopped tomatoes, and sliced  red onion. The topping possibilities are endless...mushrooms, banana peppers, olives, zucchini, sprouts, whatever!

By this point I was so ready just to devour my pizza like this, raw dough and all because it looked so pretty!

BAKE FOR 15-20 MINUTES.

My work of art. 

Make your plate before everyone else gets to it. My house smelt divine after making this...the garlic and basil aroma from the pesto filled the air. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

It's easy to grow your own herbs, so if you love herbs (or just pesto) as much as I do, it might not be a bad idea to get a starter kit and put that green thumb to work. It saves a lot of money if you use them frequently in the kitchen like I do!

Okay, so about basil...it's awesome stuff! It holds Vitamin K, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin A, maganese, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C, which makes it a great heart healthy, free-radical fighting, antioxidant. That is all wonderful, but it is the flavanoids and the volatile oils that make this herb so powerful. The flavanoids protect cell structures as well as chromosomes from radiation and oxygen based damage. Then the oils protect against unwanted bacterial growth so much that it has been tested and shown to stop the growth of pathogenic bacteria that has grown immune to antibiotics. The oils have also been know to reduce inflammation of those suffering from joint injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, and irritable bowel. Basil is pretty solid stuff, and not to mention so dang tasty. ESPECIALLY ON THIS PIZZA! 

Until next time...enjoy!