Average Jane Makes Vegan Pizza

My husband hasn't fully joined me in my gradual conversion to a plant-based diet, but one recipe that we both like a lot is tofu-topped pizza. The topping recipe comes from this ehow video. I use the pizza dough recipe that came with my KitchenAid mixer, divided in half and rolled out very thin to make two crispy crusts, and I've added tomatoes because I think every pizza needs something tomato-based.

Here's where I've netted out on the whole recipe. I think you'll like it. It makes two full-sized pizzas (you can halve the recipe, but then you have an extra pizza crust and half a package of tofu left over).

Vegan Pizzas

1 lb. firm tofu, pressed and drained
1 medium onion, diced
10 cloves garlic
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
2 tsp. dried oregano
3 tsp. sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. or more fresh tomatoes, diced (or halved, if grape or cherry tomatoes) 
2 unbaked pizza crusts

For the topping: Heat a splash of olive or grapeseed oil in a skillet and saute onion until it starts to get translucent. Press six of the garlic cloves and add them to the skillet with the onion and continue sauteeing until the onion is soft and perhaps beginning to brown lightly. Remove from heat.

Crumble tofu into a bowl with your hands until it resembles small-curd ricotta cheese. Add onion/garlic mixture and press the remaining four cloves of garlic, adding them raw to the mixture. Add in chopped spinach, oregano, sea salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, corn flake crumbs and olive oil. Mix well.

For the crust: Make the pizza dough and let it rise, per recipe instructions. Divide the dough into two equal balls and roll out each one onto a pizza pan (I use the rectangular baking stones from Pampered Chef). Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and place both pizza crusts in for five minutes or so until the crusts begin to puff up slightly.

Once crusts have been pre-baked, divide the chopped tomato between them and spread over the surface of the crust. Return to oven and bake for another five minutes or so to remove some of the moisture from the tomatoes and partially cook them.

After tomato-topped pizza crusts have been removed from the oven, spread the tofu mixture evenly over the top of both pizzas. Return to oven and bake until hot and slightly browned on top and edges, about five to seven minutes. Cut and serve immediately after removal from the oven. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and the slices reheat nicely in the oven.

Comments

[LuAnn]

Sounds terrific!