Bord Bia estimates that now 8% of the Irish population are vegetarian, 2% are vegan and a whole lot more are flexitarian. We’ve been thinking about vegan pizza ideas for a while now and I came across this very delicious one by Sarah @wellandfull who shares plant based recipes. What drew me to this pizza was the homemade pesto. I’m a sucker for it. Love the fresh taste it gives but I find basil can be expensive.
This recipe replaces basil with mixed salad leaves and it’s basically the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Sarah’s pizza uses homemade cashew cheese, (which I will attempt to make one day!), but for my take on the recipe I have used Violife Vegan cheese that I picked up in my local Tesco. If anyone out there has suggestions for vegan cheese for pizza please please get in touch!!!
Ingredients -
Pesto -
1 small shallot
2 cloves garlic
3 cups mixed leaves
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until you get a slightly chunky pesto. Place in a bowl.
Pizza -
Pizza da Piero pizza base
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pack of Violife grated vegan cheese (or any vegan cheese suitable for pizzas)
Handful of mixed leaves
Method -
1 - Heat oven to highest temperature
2 - Spread about a tablespoon of Oil on your pizza base
3- Layer the base with the pesto
4 - Top with cheese
5 - Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes.
6 - Top with mixed leaves to serve
Slice and enjoy.
There you go, the most simple and tasty vegan pizza there is!