VMLIFE

What food can be easily eaten at lunchtime, is always a winner as an evening meal, is a go to late night snack, or can be a lifesaver first thing in the morning? All hail the mighty Pizza. And with National Vegetarian Week upcoming here are some delicious recipes for you to try out that are sure to be a hit with everyone.

As with a lot of recipes we feature they can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make them.  You can make the base yourself or buy one in, and the choice of toppings are endless, and they don't have to be as unhealthy as you think.

Recipe 1



Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 packet fast-acting yeast
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (+ more for seasoning crust)
• 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ more for crust)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  

Toppings:

• 1/2 cup marinara sauce (more if preferred)
• Homemade vegan mozzarella cheese , sliced (or store-bought cheese)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (optional)

Instructions 

Pizza Dough:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  (yup, as hot as it goes).
2. Stir yeast and 1/2 tablespoon sugar into warmed water until dissolved. Let it sit for 7-10 minutes, until foamy.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour, garlic powder, salt and remaining sugar. Whisk to combine. Add the activated yeast to the bowl along with the olive oil. Mix until all ingredients are well combined and form a dough. If dough is too sticky, add a couple tablespoons of flour.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place back in the bowl (*lightly dust bowl with flour before placing the dough ball in). Completely cover the bowl with a damp napkin or hand towel for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
5. You'll need a pizza pan or large cutting board ready to transfer the pizza into and out of the oven, but you won't be cooking on it. The pizza will be cooked on parchment paper only.
6. Place a large piece of parchment paper over your work area (about the size of your pan). Dust the paper with flour so you can spread your dough easily. * Cut the dough in half using a wet knife. This recipe makes two 10-inch pizzas. I make one pizza at a time. While one is cooking, I'll prepare the other.
7. Using your hands, spread dough across the parchment paper into a round pizza shape to your desired thickness. I spread the dough pretty thin because it rises while cooking. The edges should be slightly thicker to form a pillowed crust.
8. To season your crust, lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and Italian herbs.
9. Using a spoon, spread the sauce evenly over the pizza and top with the mozzarella.
10. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto your pan to transfer to the oven. Now slide the parchment paper back off your pan and directly onto the middle oven rack.
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. *The pizza cooks fast so please keep an eye on it.*

This recipe can be found over at veganhuggs.com


Recipe 2



Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

• 250g/8oz/2cups strong wholemeal bread flour (others can be used)
• 250g/8oz/2cups plain white flour
• 15ml/1tbsp sugar
• 10ml/2tsp salt
• 10ml/2tsp dried yeast (not quick acting)
• 300ml/1 ¼ cup warm water (not boiling hot)
• 45ml/3tbsp olive oil

Raw Kale Pesto & Additional Toppings:

• 60g kale, I used cavalo nero (stems removed)
• 60g parsley
• 50g almonds
• 1tsp salt
• 3 – 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2tbs fresh lemon juice

• A handful of fresh figs, washed and thinly sliced
• A handful of pine nuts
• Balsamic glaze (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the water together with the sugar. Let the liquid rest in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble and to smell yeasty.
2. Then add the salt, olive oil and flour, until the dough comes together. It should still be soft and slightly sticky to touch.
3. Sprinkle some plain flour onto a clean work surface to avoid the dough sticking and knead for 10-20 minutes.
4. Then lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Place the dough inside and cover the bowl with a damp tea cloth. Let it rise for 1-2 hours (we left it for 90 minutes which was perfect) in a warm place or until the dough has doubled in size. Please do not leave it for more than 2 hours as the dough can collapse.
5. As the dough is rising, start working on your kale pesto by washing the kale (no stems) and parsley and placing them, together with the almonds, salt, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor, until they form a nice paste. Do taste to see if it required a little bit more salt (so personal).
6. The quantity of olive oil really depends on how running you like your pesto. I tend to work by eye on this one, so pardon me if the olive oil quantities aren't 100% exact.
7. Place in the fridge for later use.
8. Just before working with your dough again, preheat the oven to 220C/430F and place your pizza stone in the oven (not a must to have but helpful if you've got one). When the dough is ready, split it into 2 or 4 portions (depending on how big you want your pizzas to be and how big your oven is). Roll out the dough as flatly and thinly as you can and place in the oven for approximately 7 minutes or until the edges start to turn dark brown - not burned. (We placed the dough on a pizza stone (though I hadn't used one previously), which was quite hot.) If you are not using a pizza stone, please place the dough on a baking tray as close to the bottom of your oven as possible. This article here is a really good read if you're serious about good pizza doughs and need further insider tips. 
9. Because there aren't any toppings on the pizza base whilst it is in the oven, the centre did rise a tiny bit, so we pocked it with a fork a few times, to let the air out and keep the pizza base flat.
10. Remove the finished pizza base from the oven when done, spread with a thin layer of kale pesto, sprinkle some pine nuts on top, add the sliced figs and a splash of balsamic glaze (if using, like I did here). Repeat and enjoy.

This recipe can be found over at thelittleplantation.co.uk


Recipe 3



Ingredients

• White bread flour - 500g
• Extra flour for dusting
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Dried yeast - 1 (I Used 7g Sachet)
• Semolina, for dusting - 3-4 Tsp
• Extra virgin olive oil - 2 Tbsp + 1 tbsp
• Garlic grated - 2 Tsp
• Shredded parmesan cheese - 1½ Cup
• Shredded mozzarella cheese - 2½ Cup
• Lukewarm water - 335ml (I used water at 40°C)

For Toppings:

• Slices of red bell pepper
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• Red onion, sliced
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Olives
• Fresh lettuce, sliced
• Pizza sauce - ¾ cup
• Oregano
• Pepper powder & chili flakes (Optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the yeast to the lukewarm water and stir well till it dissolves.
3. Now gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix well.
4. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and mix well with a spoon/fork until you get a rough dough.
5. Transfer it onto a work surface and knead until it comes together or forms into a smooth and elastic dough ball.
6. This kneading process would take around 8-10 mins. You can add more dry flour if you think it's too sticky.
7. Divide the dough into four equal-sized balls and knead each piece for about 2 minutes.
8. Dust a tray with semolina and place the balls on it.
9. Cover the dough balls with damp kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
10. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas on the settings to upper and lower heating.
11. Dust a working surface with dry flour.
12. Using your hands or a rolling pin stretch the ball into a 10-12 inch circle or until you have a flattened disk of the desired size.
13. The edge should be slightly thicker. (Repeat the rolling process with the remaining dough balls)
14. Sprinkle some semolina or dry flour on a baking tray.
15. Place the pizza base on the floured baking tray and then use your hands to gently tug.
16. In a small bowl, mix garlic and olive oil and set aside.
17. Evenly spread the pizza sauce over the pizza base.
18. Now add sliced mushroom, bell pepper, onions, olives, cherry tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.
19. Spread over the shredded cheese (mozzarella + parmesan)
20. Sprinkle some oregano on top.
21. Drizzle with olive oil.
22. Place the pizza in the oven, for 10 to 12 minutes. (The baking time depends on how crispy you like your pizza. I usually bake 7 minutes on the upper rack and then I transfer it to the lower rack this gives the best result.)
23. Drizzle with some desired sauce, lettuce, and more extra virgin olive oil.
24. Enjoy!

This recipe can be found over at mygingergarllickitchen.com


For more information on National Vegetarian Week which runs from the 14th-20th May please head on over to here.

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