PP: Pizza Party

Chef: Jean Hayes (and my husband Scott!) 
Makes: ( 4-6) servings  
Prep time: (10) min  
Cook time: (2-4 ) hours 

Ingredients  

Jean’s Pizza Sauce  

• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped 
• A few large cloves of garlic, chopped 
• Crushed red pepper, a few shakes, or less if you don’t like spicy sauce 
• 2-3 carrots, washed and chopped 
• 28 oz can of low sodium crushed tomatoes 
• 1 container of Pomi no salt added tomatoes (26.5 oz) or 2- 15 oz cans of no salt added diced tomatoes 
• 1/2 of a 6 oz can of tomato paste 
• A few tablespoons of oregano 
• A couple of tablespoons of dried basil or fresh basil 

Directions

1. Heat up your pan (I use a nonstick stock pot) and add the onions, garlic, and carrots, and sauté until soft. If they start to stick, add a little water or veggie broth.  
2. Next, add the oregano, red pepper and dried basil. If using fresh basil, add it just in the last few min of simmering your sauce so it stays fresh tasting.  
3. Add the tomato paste and heat it up and incorporate the spices.  
4. Add the crushed and chopped or diced tomatoes.
5. Stir and let it simmer on low after you get it bubbling.  
6. After an hour or two, blend it with an immersion blender to make it smooth. If you don’t have one, then grate the carrots before you add them to the sauce.
7. Let the sauce simmer a total of about 4 hours so it cooks down and thickens.
8. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs.
9. In the summer, we also add zucchini to the sauce.
10. The onion and carrot will help sweeten the sauce so you don’t need any sugar. 

 Tips

1. The leftover sauce freezes well, so you have some for your next pizza party. 
2. You can make your pizza party simpler by using pizza sauce from a jar if you need to save time. It is difficult to find oil free sauce but not impossible.  
3. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste buds!

Scott’s Whole Wheat Pizza Crust 

Ingredients

1. 2 cups warm water,105-115 degrees 
2. 1 T molasses 
3. 1 T yeast 
4. 1 lb , 9 oz whole wheat flour 
5. 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten 
6. 1/2 T salt (or less; especially if blood pressure is an issue)
7. 1 T applesauce

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees  
2. Mix the molasses into the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and give it a few minutes to form a sponge.
3. In the meantime, weigh out the flour.
4. Add about half of it to the sponge along with the vital wheat gluten, then add applesauce the salt.
5. Stir well with a wooden spoon gradually adding the rest of the flour. 
6. Transfer the dough to an upright stand mixer and mix, using the dough hook, on the lowest speed to combine the ingredients, adding more flour a little at a time if necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl.
7. After a minute or 2, increase the mixer speed to 2 and let it knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
8. Remove the dough from the bowl, divide it into two, cover it with flour, place it on a cutting board, cover it with a plastic bag and let it rise for about 45 min or until doubled in size. 
9. Stretch the dough onto a 14″ round pizza pan sprinkled with corn meal. I like to turn it upside down and slowly remove it from the pan and bake it for 450 degrees for about 6 minutes. I found a new toy recently that helped me stretch the dough. It’s a small wooden pizza dough roller I found at the grocery store and it’s my new favorite kitchen tool! 
10. Top your pizza with whatever you like– tomato sauce cashew cheez, hummus, fresh veggies, olives, spinach…the possibilities are endless! 
11. Put the pizza back on the stone or back into the oven on the pan with your toppings and bake at 450 degrees for about 10 min or until it’s as crisp as you like. 

Tips

1. If the idea of making your own dough is too cumbersome or time consuming for you, you can purchase oil free crusts, although they are somewhat difficult to find. You also can look for a tasty millet and flax crust,  oil free pita or oil free tortillas. 
2. Let your imagination be your guide, serve your pizza with a big salad and some fresh fruit, or have a salad pizza, and top your pizza with all of your salad fixings! 

Remember to have fun with your food and enjoy! 
Check out my blog at: The Plant Based Nurse