Every pizza enthusiast has their own way of throwing together pizzas, their own topping preferences. My basic method: I like a good marinara sauce on the bottom with some onion and garlic, a HUGE amount of chopped greens on top of that (makes the pizza taste “fresher”!), a light sprinkle of cheese to hold those together, and a thick covering of my favourite seasonal and perennial fruit and veg on top, followed by another sprinkling of cheese.
Other people go lighter on toppings, some people like diced toppings and others like big old chunky chunks. Some folks like thick bases, some like thin, some like mini-pizzas some like a pizza that wouldn’t fit in most standard ovens! Some people like making wholemeal or spelt bases, others gluten-free, and some go for a dehydrated raw zucchini-flaxseed base with fresh raw toppings on top!
Whatever your preference, the end product is always fairly darn delicious. In fact, if you’re like me, you change your pizza preferences fairly often. One month you’re making a crunchy raw pizza on a lettuce leaf in the tropics, and the next you’re baking it up and melting cheese all over the oven in a southern hemisphere winter! Right now, it’s Spring in the southern hemisphere, and I’m just coming out of a baked pizza phase, and I’m starting to get a hankering for some sacralicious salady raw pizza… but before I head off in that healthy-monkey direction, I thought I’d tell you about my recent favourite pizzas! I might have to do a monthly update on how I’m progressing with this artform, yes?
Top 5 Toppings
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Spinach/Silverbeet
Marinated tempeh
Olives
Some Seasonal Favourites
Fresh pineapple
Basil and cherry tomatoes
Arugula
Eggplant (slices as bases for mini-pizzas)
Herbs & Spices
Thyme
Rosemary (with sweet potato!)
Oregano
Marjoram
Garlic
Sriracha drizzled all over that thing, baby
Cheesy Favourites
Notzarella: it melts, you guys, and it’s cheese designed for pizzas.
Vegan parmesan: for a piquant bite, a mix of ground sesame, almonds, and miso paste
Cashew cream cheese: as a second layer of sauce!
Other-Than-Fruit-&-Veg Favourites
Tempeh seasoned with soy and garlic
Tofu seasoned with nooch, sea salt, and black pepper
Refried bean paste as the pizza sauce, with minced up tofu or crumbled tempeh or whole beans on top, along with capsicum and cashew sour cream
Fave Combos
The interesting one: arugula, cashew cream cheese, pear, pinenuts, marinara sauce, red onions
The wholesome starchy one: roasted sweet potato and potatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sea salt
The big olde fruity one: pineapple, tofu jerky, mushrooms, tomato, olives, basil, garlic, Notza, BBQ sauce
Did I miss anything?! What does your favourite vegan pizza look like?
