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Monday, September 12, 2011

Recipe: Meatless Monday - Veggie pizza

Pizza doesn't have to be fattening or unhealthy, especially if you make it at home using fresh vegetables and not too much cheese.  I love Monday night pizza night, because its something to look forward to on a Monday night and is a cinch to make.  And we usually have all the ingredients in the fridge.  If you have kids, they can help make their own. And we all know how much they love to get messy in the kitchen and make their own food ;-)

This is another recipe with a "use what ever you want" instruction.  It's not a cop-out, its just that seasonal fresh produce from your local area is best.  And go crazy with the herbs at the end, they rock the flavour factor!

We also have an electric pizza oven (a random, yet awesome gift that is used on a regular basis) and it has a stone base and heating element on top.  It is fantastic because it give the pizza added crispness underneath as well as on top.  If you find that you love Monday night pizza night as much as us, then it's worth investing in a home pizza oven.


Ingredients
Wholemeal lebanese or flat bread. Aim for 1 round per person. Try to be a label nazi and buy bread without preservatives. You'll be amazed how difficult it is to find plain bread. Ergh.
Good quality passata, bottled tomato salsa/pasta sauce or pesto
Vegetables in season: try zucchini cut length-wise, cherry tomatoes, roasted kumera, roasted capsicum, eggplant, mushrooms etc.
Yoghurt, goats curd or cheese
Herbs: basil, coriander, mint, oregano, thyme etc

Method
I like to crisp up the base first, but that is a personal preference.  Top the base with tomato salsa (or you could use pesto sauce for a little basil and garlic kick, then add your veggies of choice.  Try not to overload the pizza as it will become too moist.  Less is more on a pizza, including cheese IMHO.  Top with yoghurt or cheese or both. Pop in the pizza oven for several minutes, until the cheese has melted or until the ingredients are bubbling away nicely, but not burning.

Remove from oven, top with loads of fresh herbs & serve with a big salad (of course).

For non-meatless nights, add prosciutto, prawns or whatever you like, but remember to keep the ingredient list to around 2 or 3 items.