With all of the endless deadlines going on in my life, I have completely forgotten to talk about my new book…Vegan Pizza! Seriously, how could this have happened?
Before I talk about the book, it dawned on me the other night that I had completely forgotten to mention what was happening with our food cart. As some of you may know, my husband and I opened a food cart here in Portland, about 4 1/2 years ago. We love running the cart, and the best part of all is our amazing customers! But as we progressed on getting our new baking mix company off the ground, we realized that we had way too much on our plate, and needed to think about downsizing. I won’t bore you with the details, but with writting the cookbooks, and the daily preparation and shopping needed for running a food cart, as well as the other million freelance work projects that I’ve always got going on, things were getting a little too crazy busy. So we sold our food cart to a lovely couple here in Portland, who have taken over the reins at Native Bowl. It couldn’t have happened at a better time for us, as our new product line has been launched, and I am finishing up the last couple of recipes for the casserole book. Plus, as an added bonus, we will actually have time to spend on Everyday Dish again! Yay! So the new year will be filled with lots of fun new projects.
Whew, I love new beginnings, especially when they happen to correspond with the new year. I am not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I do love when you can make important changes and redesign your life in better ways.
Now, where were we? Oh yes, I was about to do a holiday giveaway for my new book Vegan Pizza, and share a recipe with you for my Peanut Barbeque Pizza! And, if you want to be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of pizza, as well as your name and a way to reach you (should you win). Good luck to everyone! I hope that you love this book as much as I do! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, this book would make a fantastic gift for the holidays. Just Sayin’… Oh, and you can easily make this recipe gluten-free, by using a GF crust. I do have an awesome one in the book, which is the dough that I use whenever I make pizza for myself.
Easy-Peasy Pizza Dough
Makes 2 large (14- to 15-inch) or 4 personal thin-crust pizzas
I have been making a version of this no-knead pizza crust for more than 20 years. It never lets me down! It can keep in the refrigerator for up to five days, so it can be made on the weekend and kept for quick weeknight dinners.
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast (such as Fleischmann’s RapidRise brand), at room temperature
1 1/4 cups warm water (110 to 120 degrees)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar or 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, mixing well with a fork. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the dry mixture, and add the warm water, olive oil and agave nectar or brown sugar; stir with a fork until everything is well combined and there are no traces of flour left. If the dough seems dry, add a little more water as necessary to make a soft, moist dough. There is no need to knead this dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a fitted lid and set aside in a warm place to rise for 2 to 3 hours (or up to 6 hours). At this point, you can refrigerate it, covered, for up to 5 days, or divide the dough into two or four pieces and freeze them in a sealed zip-top bag (with room for dough expansion) for up to 2 weeks. Let the frozen dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before shaping.
Shape and bake the pizza according to the recipe instructions.
Reprinted with permission from
Recipe from Vegan Pizza: 50 Cheesy, Crispy, Healthy Recipes by Julie Hasson, Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013
Peanut Barbecue Pizza
Makes 1 large or two personal pizzas
It sounds crazy, but the creamy flavor of the peanut butter blended with the bold flavor of barbecue sauce is a perfect match, especially when topped with cilantro, cheese, corn, green bell pepper and onion.
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon very hot water
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
1 batch pizza dough (see accompanying recipes)
3/4 to 1 cup shredded vegan mozzarella-style cheese
1 large green bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
About 1/3 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh corn kernels
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Preheat the oven, preferably with a pizza stone inside, to 500 degrees for 30 minutes while getting the pizza ready.
In a small or medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, barbecue sauce, hot water, maple syrup, garlic and cayenne. Stir until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Divide dough into two even pieces. Keep one piece and return the other to a covered bowl in the refrigerator for later use. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll out your dough into one large (14- to 15-inch) or two small (11-inch) rounds, as thin as you can get it. Don’t worry if your dough tears. Simply patch it back together with your fingers. Lightly dust with additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Try not to use too much or the dough will be dry. Carefully transfer the rolled-out dough to a large sheet of parchment paper.
Spread the peanut barbecue sauce evenly on the pizza, leaving a 1/4- to 1/2-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce, and top with the green bell pepper. Scatter the onion and corn over the top. Generously sprinkle the chopped cilantro over the corn.
Carefully transfer the pizza and parchment paper to the pizza stone, if using. Otherwise place the pizza on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust looks fairly darkish brown. If it’s not done, continue baking a few more minutes.
Let the pizza cool for 5 minutes. If desired, drizzle a little barbecue sauce decoratively over the pizza, or serve it on the side. Cut into slices and serve right away.
Recipe from Vegan Pizza: 50 Cheesy, Crispy, Healthy Recipes by Julie Hasson, Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013
My favorite pizza consists of pineapple, green peppers, potatoes, and green onion. Weird, yes. Tasty, yes. (At least to me!)
You read my mind today. I’ve been wanting pizza for dinner since lunch! 🙂 As I met my husband 20 years ago in a pizza dive we both worked out in a college town, we like making or buying dough, creating three pies, and it’s personalized pizzas for him, the omni, her, the little vegetarian, and me. I personally love a spicy sauce with whatever seasonal veggies I have roasted and some Moxerella from Vegged Out. Tho I recently tried my hand at a vegan Parma Rosa style sauce and I have to say…..I’m in love. yum!
Until now, I thought my favorite pizza was the vegan chef’s special at Pizza Research Institute. But now I’m sure that all of the recipes in this book are going to turn my ideas about pizza on their heads. The photos on the cover are so tantalizing, and your Peanut Barbecue Pizza recipe sounds AMAZING! I can’t wait to try the recipe! Here’s to new beginnings!
Well! Doesn’t that sound tasty! Aside from traditionally veggie pizza (with extra onions) I like the vegan “cheeseburger” pizza in La Dolce Vegan. I make that a lot.
Vegan karage chicken with basil, cilantro peanut sauce, daiya, gingered tomato slices, shredded carrots, and a rosemary crust dusted in nutritional yeast instead of semolina than baked.
I love a good veggie crunchy crust without cheese and have been buying one to take home from the pizza parlor. I would love to have a selection of good recipes to make at home. I am glad to hear that you are going to be doing more on everyday dish. That is where I found you first. I still use those recipes and my favorite is choc chip cookies!!
My favorite pizza is cooked on the grill, topped with marinara, mushrooms and pesto. Or a calzone stuffed with veggies and tofu ricotta, that’s kind of pizza too!
Congrats on new beginnings!
I don’t know if I can choose a favorite pizza… I do agree that Pizza Research Institute’s is AMAZING–pesto and potatoes and creamy cheese-like sauce? Yes. Otherwise, I’d say something classic with Daiya, red bell peppers, olives, and spinach sounds perfect to me. Maybe a balsamic reduction if I’m feeling fancy.
Oh, I’ve never met a pizza that I didn’t like! LOL! I’m vegetarian, so any form of vegetarian pizza is an attraction for me, as pizza is honestly my favorite meal!
Congratulations on all of the exciting changes. Super excited to see Everyday Dish will be filming again! Happiest of Holidays to you and yours!
Hi Julie!!
Congrats on your newest cookbook! I love pizza and probably my favorite is Thai Pizza — with cilantro, peanut sauce, peppers, and such. Thanks for sharing some recipes with all of us!!
My favorite pizza is bacon alfredo! I use a homemade crust, top it with a sauce made using silken tofu, garlic, nooch, and a few other seasonings, then I add a little crushed red pepper, Daiya and top the whole thing with whatever bacon I have laying around (eggplant, shiitake, tempeh, etc – any of them work!). I can’t wait to see the casserole book.
How nice that you’ve found a way to reduce the crazy busy-ness that feels good to you. Yay for timely new beginnings!
I love all kinds of pizza, but I’ve come to discover a little while ago that I really really like hummus as a topping. It’s good as a sauce underneath the other toppings, but I like it even better just spooned up in blobs on top of everything else. It ends up being almost crispy on the outside, and creamy inside – it’s just great!
I’m a big fan of Chicago deep dish pizza as well as a good thin crust slice of NYC pizza. Vegan pizza has come a long way. My email is Jennifer Chen 0 at gmail dot com (zero after Chen). Thanks!
My favorite pizza is pretty much a simple one topped with lots of spinach, broccoli, mushrooms and cheese. But the pizzas in your book look amazing! I just might have to branch out…
I’m all hung up on white pizza; a nice garlic white sauce studded with broccoli and sun dried tomatoes. Mmmmmmm!
I like veggie pizza with lots of mushrooms and black olives.
thin crust, garlicy red sauce, onions, peppers, mushrooms, roasted garlic
We are pizza fanatics in my household, very excited about the book!! Our favorite pizza topping is artichoke hearts, though curry pizza is a close second 🙂
My favorite pizza toppings are mushrooms, broccoli and olives.
I’m super lazy…I buy the cheese-free Amy’s pizza and jazz it up with olives, Daiya, garlic and kale. So easy but so good!
I don’t know if my comment posted, so sorry if this is a double-post
I like vegan sausage, broccoli and sundried tomatoes with vegan mozz on top of my pizza
I would love a copy of your new book! My favorite pizza has lots of veggies and vegan cheese, just hold the onion and make sure there’s jalapeno on it. Thank you for the giveaway!
I know that feeling all too well. I burn the life out of gairlc bread and have been banned from using the oven for life. 🙂 Luckily, my 16-year old daughter is a great cook, so between her and hubby they keep us all well fed.