Another weekend is gone, and it's all about the Manic Monday. The day the alarm seems especially early, sometimes the day seems exceptionally long, or is it because we are just tired from all that weekend fun? Now it's back to the routine, work, workout, errands, boring foods, etc.
Not so here at the Paws and Pours household. Our meatless creation this week is really something to look forward to at the end of the longest day of the week. Let me show you how to have a delicious and nutritious pizza to start out your week.
First, pour a glass of vino, and take a deep breath. Monday is almost over right? We started with a favorite, the Dynamic 2006 Red Table Wine. I have reviewed this before here, but I just can't say enough about this great blend. A $10 bottle that really drinks more like it is a $25 red.
Now, get out your pizza dough. We used homemade pizza dough that was frozen the last time we made a large batch. But, in a pinch, Trader Joe's or Fresh and Easy make fantastic fresh pizza dough. Breathe, take another sip of vino, and start to feel very relaxed. ;-)
I have made variations of this type of white pizza in the past, but wanted to experiment with making it vegan this time. Really, all that involved was substituting silken tofu for ricotta cheese, and using the Veggie Shreds Italian blend "cheese." The results were spectacular!
VEGAN WHITE PIZZA
pizza dough or pre-made pizza crust
12 oz. silken firm tofu (2/3 of a block) - can substitue 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup Veggie Shredds Italian blend - or substitute 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella + 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh arugula, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly slices
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 -2 roma tomatoes sliced, or 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Crushed red pepper to taste
mushrooms (optional) and drizzle of good balsamic (optional)
1. In a bowl, combine tofu and veggie shredds. Add garlic salt, lemon juice, and oregano. Mix thoroughly.
2. Spread tofu mixture over pizza dough, leaving 1/2 inch around the edges
3. Top with arugula, basil, shallot and tomatoes. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper.
Bake in pre-heated oven - 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes - or until edges are turning golden and toppings are done.
Pour another glass of wine, and dig in!
Seriously, this was so good, I could eat it EVERY night of the week!
Hope you all survived Monday and have a great week!
5 comments:
The Dynamic sounds wonderful. I haven't seen it in MO. Did you order it from the winery? I'll be so jealous if you got it in a store and it's unavailable here!
Mmmm. That looks delicious. I would love to hear more about the vegan cheese. I made my own for VeganMoFo, but haven't tried a store-bought version yet. How does it compare to the real thing? I'm very intrigued, but I think it's safe to say that with my taking a cheese certificate course this spring (taught by the owner of a very awesome local cheese shop) it's unlikely I'll be going vegan anytime soon.
Maureen it looks delicious..who needs pepperoni with pizzas like this.
Hi, this is Joey again from Meatless Monday. Being a dog and wine lover myself, I really enjoy your blog. I also wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you making Meatless Monday a regular feature on your site.
I also wanted to let you know that next week we are doing a Chili Monday nights theme. Because meatless chili is so hearty and delicious, we tend to make it a special issue, where regular readers can submit pictures of their chili, chili recipes etc. I just wanted to let our loyal Meatless Monday bloggers know in case you wanted to incorporate chili into your next Monday's (1-26) meaplan.
If you have any questions or chili photos/recipes/stories please feel free to email me at jlee@MondayCampaigns.org. You also might want to check out some of our special chili articles and recipes at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/chilimonday. The chili quotes in particular are priceless.
That pizza looks amazing! I will definitely try this recipe. However, I just wanted to let you know that Veggie Shreds are not actually vegan. They have casein (which is a milk protein) in them. If you want to try a great vegan cheese (that actually melts), try Daiya cheese. You can buy it at most grocery stores now...at least the ones that have a health food section. Thanks for posting the recipe!
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