Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had fun celebrating Cinco de Mayo and eating carnitas and guacamole. Normally, I would have been among the masses, shoving tortillas chips in my face and inviting everyone over to fiesta like I did last year. But, our weekend was more Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond than pinatas and tacos. I’m not complaining – it felt really good to be productive and get stuff done. Plus, as much as I love any and all Mexican cuisine, I just didn’t feel ready for Cinco de Mayo. I mean, how is it already May?? I feel like last week I was wearing scarves and a heavy jacket and now I’m wearing shorts and a tank and I’m sweating, you guys, sweating. It’s like we skipped right over spring and my cute light-weight spring jackets are sad. Sad I tell you!
Before we are completely overcome by sun and warm weather and fruity cocktails (again, not complaining), I felt like I needed one last tangle with some winter greens. Seriously, I had a small panic attack thinking that our grocery store might not stock kale anymore because it’s summer. I can’t help it. I’m a kale fanatic. Remember kale week? Or was that kale month…? There was the kale guacamole, the kale and pancetta salad, the kale and apple salad and that pasta. Wow, I forgot about that pasta and now it’s all I can think about.
Anyways, back on task. We’re here to talk about a new kale recipe. It involves one of my other favorites, white beans. Hiya buddy…. 🙂
This pizza is like all my healthy favorites decided to jump in a carpool on the ride to my tummy. Oh, and their vehicle of choice? The hybrid of pizza crusts – a gluten-free oat and almond crust. That’s right, this pizza is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. It’s a veritable health bonanza.
Before I go any further, I am the first to acknowledge that pizza is barely pizza without cheese. Yes, I get this is not pizza in the traditional sense, but it has a crust, sauce and toppings, and I made it with my pizza stone, so, there ya go. It’s pizza.
I thought I would miss the cheese but the pureed white beans are really enough to satiate any creamy cravings. I swear. If you’re not convinced, try this on for size. I was not even going to feed this pizza to Alasdair as it’s vegan and cheeseless, and I didn’t want to have to listen to him complain that it needed cheese and meat. But, his curiosity was peaked and he took a bite unprovoked. And then another and another. I was all, “you like this…???” And he was all, “yeah it’s actually pretty decent. The crust has a good flavor and I like the combination of the white beans and the crispy kale.” And I was all, “well, then.” Cue the flattered giggles.
So, jump on the bandwagon. Eat some pizza. It’s good for you – I promise! 🙂
- [b]Gluten-Free Dough[/b]:
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 3/4 warm water
- 2 and 1/4 cups oat flour (preferably ground in your food processor from old-fashioned oats)
- 3/4 cup [url href=”http://amzn.to/1uJZFyR”]almond flour[/url]
- 1/2 cup flaxmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3 tablespoons chopped oregano
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup warm water
- [b]Garlic Oil:[/b]
- 2 large pieces garlic
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- [b]White Bean Sauce:[/b]
- 1 and 1/2 cups white beans
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 black pepper
- [b]Pizza Toppings:[/b]
- 2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 and 1/2 cups kale, chopped with hard stems removed
- 1/2 cup white beans, rinsed and drained
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- [b]Gluten-Free Dough:[/b]
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine yeast and 3/4 cup warm water – about 110 degrees. Let the yeast sit for 5 minutes to activate.
- In a separate bowl, combine oat flour, almond flour, flaxmeal, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oregano, thyme and red pepper flakes. Whisk until well combined.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and add the yeast mixture, the olive oil and the additional 1/2 cup warm water. Then, stir it all together until well combined, using a wooden spoon.
- Lightly coat a baking sheet or pizza stone with non-stick cooking spray and plop your dough down. Coat your hands with non-stick cooking spray and/or oat flour and, working from the middle, push to spread/flatten the dough into a circle. Don’t worry about making it look pretty. Healthy pizza is better with rustic jagged edges. 🙂
- Put the pizza in the oven to pre-bake for roughly 20-25 minutes. It should be dry and crispy before removing from the oven.
- [b]Garlic Oil:[/b]
- In a small saucepan, bring the garlic and oil to a boil, then turn the heat to low, and cook for 5 minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned. Turn off the heat and set aside. The garlic will continue to cook. Remove the garlic cloves from the oil before using.
- [b]White Bean Sauce:[/b]
- Put all the ingredients for the white bean sauce (white beans through black pepper) in a food processor and process on high until smooth.
- [b]Pizza Toppings:[/b]
- Brush the pre-baked pizza crust with the garlic oil. You won’t need all the garlic oil. Spread the white bean sauce with a spatula over the crust. Top with the chopped kale, mushrooms and white beans. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Pop the pizza back into oven for another 5-7 minutes, or until the kale begins to brown and crisp. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper, if desired.
- [b]NOTE 1:[/b] You can buy oat flour at the store or you can grind oats in the food processor. I found that, for some unknown reason, grinding the oats in the food processor produced a nuttier, more flavorful crust. While the store-bought oat flour yielded a blander crust regardless of the amount of spices I used.
- [b]NOTE 2:[/b] Let the pizza rest for a few minutes before cutting. The crust should hold together well as long as you pre-baked it long enough. Also, you will have leftover garlic oil. I suggest using it for bread or salad dressing. Imagine a crusty baguette dipped in garlic oil and topped with some parmesan cheese. AMAZING.
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