HOW TO MAKE FRESH VEGAN MOZZARELLA CHEESE PIZZA
THIS RECIPE IS :
Dairy Free Kid-Friendly Vegan
from One Green Planet
INGREDIENTS
1/4 C. raw cashews (soaked in water for several hours and then drained IF you don’t have a high powered blender)
1 C. hot water
2 T. + 1 t. tapioca starch
1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
1 small garlic clove, minced
3/4 t. sea salt
1 t. fresh lemon juice
For the dough
This crust contains gluten, but you can use gluten-free ingredients.
2 C. organic all purpose flour
1 C. organic whole wheat flour
2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 cup warm water
2 t. sea salt
1 t. agave
1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
For the pizza sauce
one 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
1 t. agave
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
PREPARATION
Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until completely smooth, about 1 minute.
Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium high heat. After a couple of minutes the mixture will start to look weird, like it’s curdling or separating. This is totally normal, reduce heat to medium and KEEP stirring so you don’t burn the cheese to the bottom of the pot.
Keep cooking and stirring til really thick (about 2-3 more minutes) and the mixture becomes like a cohesive mass of melted dairy cheese and stretches like in the photo below.
Remove from heat and let cool a bit while you assemble the pizzas.
For the dough
Combine all ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes until doubled. While the dough is rising, make the pizza sauce and the fresh mozzarella cheese.
For the pizza sauce and to assemble the pizza
Saute the garlic in a little vegetable broth or the olive oil in a small saucepan for a minute or two on medium heat. Add all the other ingredients. Reduce heat to low and let simmer while you make the Mozzarella Cheese.
Assembly: Your dough should be nearly ready now, so when it hits 60 minutes or is doubled, punch it down and divide it into four pieces. Preheat the oven to 500°. Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin or thick as you like. We opted for thicker pizzas this round. Spread each pizza with 1/4 of the pizza sauce. Top with fresh tomato slices, dollops of the fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves like shown in the photo below
Bake individual pizzas for 10-12 minutes on a baking sheet until cheese and the crusts are nicely browned. Note: there is a very fine line between nicely browned and burnt here, so please, watch your pizzas carefully. Sprinkle pizzas with a bit of additional chopped fresh basil once out of the oven if desired.
