Friday Night Pizza

FRIDAY NIGHT PIZZA

By Clea Grady of Veganuary

Friday night is pizza night in our house, but you can have this any night you want! Pre-made bases make this the tastiest quick and easy meal for the end of the working week. There are lots of base options available, but you do have to check the labels as some brands do sneak in milk or eggs.

One of the great things about homemade pizzas is you can experiment with flavour options and amounts. Making your own pizza is great for families – kids can make their own combos and compete with the adults for best taste. It also makes for a fun and easy dinner party option.

Ingredients:

  • Vegan pizza bases

  • Tomato sauce

  • Sautéed kale

  • Olives - kalamata or stuffed green, or a mix of the two

  • Mushrooms, chopped

  • Red/Yellow Pepper, finely chopped

  • Tomatoes, finely sliced

  • Vegan cheese

Optional:

  • Fresh chilli

  • Artichokes

  • Fresh rocket (to sprinkle over the top after cooking)

  • Pine Nuts

  • Fresh basil

  • Chilli infused olive oil (to sprinkle over the top after cooking)

  • Roasted garlic

  • Spinach

Tomato Sauce:

  • Finely chop one onion and a couple cloves of garlic. Add to a frying pan with a little olive oil.

  • Add half a teaspoon (each) of oregano, basil and thyme and mix.

  • Add a can of chopped tomatoes, a little salt and cracked pepper and leave to simmer and thicken. If you don’t let the sauce thicken enough, your toppings will slide off while eating.

Cheese Options:

  • Vegan cheese doesn’t melt the same as dairy cheese, so my advice is to go with less cheese to begin with and then work out what tastes best.

  • Another option is to make your own potato and carrot cheese.

  • There are more and more vegan cheeses coming on the market every day, and you’ll soon become familiar with the ones in your area/country.

Assembling the Pizza:

  • Preheat oven to 425F.

  • Wash some kale and add it to a frying pan with a little olive oil. Sauté for a few minutes until the kale is dark green. Turn off heat.

  • Chop the rest of your ingredients and grate the cheese.

  • Create your pizza! I usually go: sauce, kale, olives, mushrooms, pepper, tomato and, lastly (after 5/10 minutes in the oven) cheese – but you can really do any order you want.

  • I always put my pizzas into the oven without the cheese and let it cook for about half the required time (check the packet instructions), and then add the cheese for the second half. This means that the veggies get enough heat, and the cheese doesn’t burn.

  • Remove and eat in great big slices!

Brian Katemanpizza, veggies, dough