Tuesday 20 January 2015

Recipe For Vegetable Pizza

Recipe For Vegetable Pizza Biography

source(google.com.pk)
I made these the day before New Year’s Eve last year. Any flatbread can be used—I used packaged Naan, which is a traditional Indian flatbread, and which I happened to have in my fridge after a huge trip to a huge supermarket in Tulsa a couple of weeks earlier, and which makes splendid pizza. Which, which, which.
This is one of those throw-together things you can do when your daughter has a slumber party, your mother-in-law drops by for a glass of wine, or you feel like eating pizza and you don’t want to make pizza dough. Dress ‘em up or dress ‘em down as required.
(Flatbreads like these keep really well in the freezer. I just stick the unopened packages in large Ziplocs to give them extra protection. They don’t take long to thaw—easy as pie!)
 
Cut a bunch of grape tomatoes in half (I used all red, but red and yellow are purtier) then drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
 
 
 
Do the same with a bunch of thick mushroom slices. These are Baby Bellas and came already sliced, but use whatever ‘shrooms you have!
 
 
 
And thick, diagonal slices of zucchini (or eggplant or summer squash…or all of the above!)
 
 
 
Throw ‘em all in a very hot (425 to 450 degree) oven and roast them until the vegetables are nice and…well, roasted!
 
 
 
Tomatoes. Yum.
 
 
 
Shrooms. Even more yum.
 
 
 
Zucchini. I could have let them go longer, but I wanted pizza, man.
But roasted vegetables. Oh, man. They’re my life.
 
 
 
So basically, here’s the setup:
Naan
Jarred marinara sauce
Jarred olives
Jarred pesto
Roasted vegetables
Sliced Mozzarella
And you can add as many other toppings as your heart leads you.
Sliced pepperoni
Crumbled cooked Italian sausage
Slices of roasted bell peppers: red, green, yellow
Grilled pineapple
Canadian bacon
Thinly sliced red onion
Crumbled Feta cheese
Arugula or other greens (sprinkle on after removing pizza from oven)
Parmesan shavings
 
 
 
This is where my heart is leading me.
 
 
 
Then everybody just builds the pizza to their soul’s content. This had a bunch of pesto on the crust as the sauce, then the veggies and cheese on top.
 
 
 
Stick ‘em back into the oven just long enough for the toppings to bubble up and the flatbread to crisp just a bit.
Share this PostIn many ways I have learned that making a pizza is like constructing a piece of art. The base of the pizza is like the foundation of the art form. And in this case it needs to look right, smell good and taste great!



Once you have the dough in place you can roll the dough thinly to make a thin crusted pizza or into medium thickness to have a crusty base and a little bit of spongy bread like texture, like I have here. Or roll the dough thick to bite into fluffy and soft pizza.



Next comes the sauce. Firm ripe tomatoes, adequately spiced and herbed turn into tangy goodness with just a hint of sweet to balance the sour flavours. The sauce is the perfect foil between the base and the toppings. You get it right and you get a perfectly balanced pizza.



Then come the toppings. Colourful embellishments with different textures artistically arranged over the sauce is like the finishing touch to this masterpiece. Alas! I was hard pressed for time as I was in a rush to go and pick up my 3 1/2 year old from nursery and I sprinkled the toppings I chose in quick succession before I placed my pizza stone into the oven and closed its door shut.



A little bit of time on hand can mean more elaborate decorations in terms of your artistic expression.



Remove the toppings and just do the base with the sauce and cheese and you have the classic pizza margherita which Im sure would make Hari a very happy boy. But I’m also pretty sure that I would never make it unless I had a vegetable soup as an accompaniment to it, the vegetable lover that I am!



I really enjoyed making this pizza for my family and served this with pasta in lemon sauce and some roasted pumpkin and beans. It created the perfect base, a great sauce and the toppings of my choice alongwith the cheese made a harmonious blend of taste and textures. And what’s not to love in such endeavours which make oneself and the loved ones happy?

Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


Recipe For Vegetable Pizza


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