Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Vegan Pizza

Vegan Pizza 


INGREDIENTS
Socca pizza crust
  • 1 cup chickpea flour (chana besan) 
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, I’m partial to large grained salts with some flavor to them, but any salt will do

Pizza toppings
  • 1 avocado, mashed (your mouth won’t know this isn’t cheese, it’s magic)
  • 1 cup spaghetti sauce (I told you it was what was in my fridge)

(whatever is in the fridge that looks like a pizza topping. I used these today, tomorrow it will probably be something different)
  • handful of fresh basil
  • 1 thinly sliced eggplant
  • 1 thinly sliced red onion
  • handful of sliced black olives

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Mix the chickpea flour (chana besan), water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and minced garlic together. Dough will be very wet. Resist the urge to add more flour. Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour to let the chickpea flour soak up the water.
  • Turn on the broiler with a rack positioned 8 inches from heat. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet (or something ovenproof anyway) in the oven to preheat.
  • Once the cast iron skillet is hot, using oven mitts carefully remove it from the oven. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl the pan around so the oil is evenly distributed. Pour in the chickpea batter and place the skillet under the broiler. Cook for 8 minutes or so until the socca is set and the edges are browning and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven, turn off broiler and turn oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • With a large spatula, raise the socca and add the last of the olive oil to the skillet. Flip the socca over and top with spaghetti sauce, the smushed up avocado, and then whatever toppings you decided to use.
  • Return the skillet to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the veggies are browned and the socca is crisp. Remove from oven and let cool, slice into 4-6 pieces and serve.



There's a story here (there's always a story) but it's going to have to wait for another day. In the meantime, enjoy plant based whole foods and tell the people you care about that you love them.

More info on socca flatbreads at https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-socca-a-naturally-gluten-free-chickpea-flatbread-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-169513