The moral to this post is if you cut back on the cheese, and bump up the protein on your pizza 🍕 it will be infinitely more delicious, more satisfying, less of that yucky gluggy feeling (from too much cheese, even vegan cheese) and significantly healthier!
These days I am reading a lot about people making fancy bases for their pizzas like cauliflower or sweet potato, but honestly keep it easy. Just have less of the pizza.
For one person I normally do a whole pizza base, so I get it for lunch the next day. So for a whole pizza you need TWO serves of protein. For the below recipes I used Silken tofu. Any little bit of feta or Parmesan you add just think of as bonus protein.
Two serves of tofu is a whole 300 gram block of Silken tofu (24 grams of protein).
Recipe 1: Tofu, Pesto and Spinach
For this pizza I used a store bought 13” pizza base, with a store bought tomato 🍅 , garlic and basil 🌿 pizza sauce.
In a bowl put your Silken tofu, 2 heaped teaspoons of your favorite pesto, grated Parmesan cheese to taste, dash of lemon, and a 2 heaped tablespoons of finely chopped or blitzed spinach. Generously spread the mixture over the tomato paste. Throw some ripped spinach and rocket on top. Pop in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius to cook👩🍳 until the edges are crispy and enjoy!
Recipe 2: Tofu, Artichoke and Feta
For this one I bought pre-made pizza dough ball, which requires you to let it rise and roll it out, and the some more store bought pizza sauce as above.
Grate a medium zucchini with an apple peeler, place zucchini strips in fry pan with a little, oil, pesto, the block of Silken tofu all smooshed up, artichoke and a bit of the artichoke brine, half a block of feta cut into little cubes, cherry tomatoes and a handful of spinach leaves. Fry for 3-5 mins then place on top of the tomato sauce. Place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius until bubbly toppings or crispy edges. Enjoy!
Recipe 3: Tofu and Mushroom
This one has more simple toppings, but on a freakin delicious wholemeal dough 🤤.
For the dough combine wholemeal flour, warm water, salt and olive oil until you get a nice dough consistency (not wet and not crumbling apart) . If you have baking powder add a pinch for a fluffier dough. Precook in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 mins or so, until the dough does spring back as fast, but hasn’t changed colour.
While it’s in the oven put cherry tomatoes and slices mushrooms in a fry pan with a little (1-2 tsp) olive oil with oregano, salt and rosemary. You don’t have to fully cook them as they will be in the oven anyway.
Add your tomato paste of choice to the precooked base. Then nice chunks of Silken, with the tomato and mushroom mixture from the fry pan.
Place in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius and take it out when the pizza base has changed colour slightly. Enjoy!
And if you can’t be bothered to make pizza, all good just call the pizza place, or write in the special request box ‘please take out the mozzarella cheese’. I often ask for a little feta, Parmesan cheese, or choose a pizza with a bit of pesto sauce just to keep it exciting.
Nicole Reynolds 