Did someone order a pizza (recipe)?

It's probably no surprise to hear me say that I love to cook. It's one of my favorite things to do. I love reading cookbooks and food blogs. I love creating new recipes or recreating someone else's recipes. I love food shopping, watching cooking shows, eating, talking about food...the list goes on. 

I also love PIZZA. And when I say that I love pizza, I mean that it's real true love.

In fact, for a very long time, if anyone asked me what my favorite food was, I would always say pizza (yes, this is an answer I gave as an adult). My explanation would always be, "because almost everything tastes great on pizza!" And when you think about it, it's true. 

I learned how true my theory of "almost everything tastes great on pizza" actually was when I decided to explore a vegan lifestyle. No more cheese??? But how could pizza possibly still taste good?
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At first, my exploration of veggie friendly pizzas began at restaurants. I would order pizza without cheese or order a pizza with vegan cheese. Most of the time I was underwhelmed, but still very, very happy to be eating pizza. Eventually I began creating my own pizza at home. I even bought a pizza stone for the oven!

My homemade pizza game totally changed when a friend of mine recommended that I buy a book written by Chloe Coscarelli called Vegan Italian Kitchen. Every person should own this cookbook. It's AWESOME.

As I mentioned above, I really love to recreate someone else's recipes. You know, make them my own. So that's exactly what I did with some of the recipes in Chloe's cookbook.

In my recipes below, it will seem as if there are a lot of ingredients and steps, but I can promise you that these recipes are actually not that complicated to make. And if you find them to be complicated, well, they are still absolutely worth your time to make.

Since there are several recipes within these pizza recipes (there are two different pizza recipes below), I have written out the order to which I think it makes sense to make everything. If you plan to make both pizzas, there is definitely enough dough to use in both recipes -- especially if you use a rolling pin to roll out the dough and make the crust super thin (YUM!). If you're really hungry or serving a lot of people, go crazy and make the dough recipe twice.

I'd love to hear what you think! Please leave me a comment if you make any of the recipes -- especially if you recreate them! I always love to hear new cooking ideas :)

Anyway, let's get to the cooking!

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Pizza Dough

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar (I use maple syrup)

PREPARATION

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand until bubbles form, about ten minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, oil, salt, maple syrup, and the yeast mixture. Using lightly floured hands or an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix until a stiff dough has formed. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle extra flour (1 teaspoon at a time, as needed). Place the dough in a large well-oiled bowl and rotate the ball of dough so it is completely covered with the oil. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises. Cover with a dry kitchen towel and place in a warm part of the kitchen until it has doubled in volume (about 1 1/2 hours).
• Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, shape into a disk and knead for five minutes. Use dough immediately or cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for a later use (thaw to room temperature before using).
• Recipe makes about 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of pizza dough.

Shiitake Bacon

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch thick)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients together. Transfer mixture to a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, turning frequently with a spatula, until lightly browned and crisp.

Vegan Ricotta Cheese

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours and drained
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• Dash of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• A few grinds of black pepper

​*If you are not using a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, soak cashews overnight or boil for ten minutes and drain. This will soften them and ensure a silky smooth cream.

PREPARATION

• Combine in high speed blender or food processor until smooth.

Pesto Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups packed fresh basil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or cashews (I use walnuts)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

PREPARATION

• In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Roasted Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/4 cup olive oil*
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast*
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

*add more if you are using a large cauliflower

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss until evenly coated.
• Bake for 25-35 minutes or until browned. Use spatula to turn once or twice during cooking.
• Remove from oven and set aside.

Wild Mushroom Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 8 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 3 large shallots, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 8 ounces wild or mixed mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 pizza dough recipe as listed above (or just half of the above recipe)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (optional)
• Approximately half of the vegan ricotta cheese recipe, adding more if preferred
• Shiitake bacon (use only half of above recipe)
• Crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)

PREPARATION

• In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat and saute white mushrooms, shallots, salt, and pepper, until mushrooms and shallots are soft and lightly browned. Add wine, reduce heat to medium-low, and let cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Turn off the heat, and mix in thyme and parsley. Season to taste and let cool slightly. Transfer mushroom mixture to a food processor and reserve the skillet. Pulse a few times until mushrooms are finely chopped into a spread-like consistency.
• In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and saute wild mushrooms until very soft. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly brush a large baking sheet with oil.
• Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, roll or stretch the dough into a large rectangle (or shape of whatever pan you are using). Fit it into the baking sheet and brush with oil. Sprinkle with garlic, leaving a 3/4 inch border. Spread the pulsed mushroom mixture and arrange the sauteed wild mushrooms on top and season with salt and pepper. 
• Optional: use marinara sauce under the layer of mushrooms on half of the pizza, leaving the other half white. I am a marinara lover so I love this option, but feel free to leave the whole pizza white -- or cover the entire pizza with marinara! Create it to your liking.
• Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from oven, top with ricotta cheese and shiitake bacon, then bake again for 3-5 more minutes. Be careful not to overcook the crust! Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing. Serve with crushed red pepper and garnish with thyme, if preferred.
• Leftovers taste great in the toaster oven!

Pesto Cauliflower Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 roasted cauliflower recipe as listed above
• 1 pesto recipe as listed above
• 1 pizza dough recipe as listed above (or just half of the above recipe)
• Approximately half of the vegan ricotta cheese recipe, adding more if preferred
• Shiitake bacon (use only half of above recipe)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Crushed red pepper, if preferred

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly brush a large baking sheet with oil.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll or stretch the dough into a large rectangle (or shape of whatever pan you are using). Fit it into the baking sheet and brush with oil. Spread the pesto mixture thoroughly on the dough leaving a 3/4 inch border. Don't use all of the pesto because you'll want to use some for serving!
• Spread cauliflower on top of pesto, lightly season with salt and pepper and bake for about 15 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from oven, top with ricotta cheese and shiitake bacon, then bake again for 3-5 more minutes. Be careful not to overcook the crust! Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, if preferred. Serve with remaining pesto sauce for dipping.
• Leftovers taste great in the toaster oven!