I’ve garnered a whole new respect for all you web-recipe folks. The increased number of dishes, extra time spent finding decent lighting and having to remember exactly the ingredients you used makes this whole process unappetizing. But I prevailed! And this time, with a bit of creativity as I did not follow a pre-made recipe and swung by the seat of my apron.
Though I didn’t follow a specific recipe, this was inspired by the last two restaurants I worked at that both serve(d) a pizza with a butternut squash base. One used pumpkin seeds as a topping, the other pickled red sweet peppers. So I tapped in to both and came up with something that turned out to be delicious.
What you need:
1 medium-sized butternut squash
1 yellow onion
1 cup pickled beets (chopped)
2 cups fresh spinach
1 small eggplant
½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 pizza crust (unfortunately I didn’t make my own)
What you do:
1) Roast the butternut squash with the onion in the oven on 400’ for about an hour and then puree the squash with the onion and set aside for the pizza base
2) Roast the eggplant halves for about 45 minutes and then slice into thin strips
3) Chop the pickled beets and spinach into topping-like sizes
4) Spread the squash/onion base and top with the beets, spinach, eggplant and pumpkin seeds
Pizza’s are really one of the easiest things to make and they can be a great blank canvas for something a bit out of the box. As far as nutrients, beets are good for increasing efficiency of using oxygen, theoretically making work at a certain pace easier. Squash and pumpkin seeds have relatively high levels of iron, which can be an elusive nutrient for a plant-based diet. The iron might be more difficult to digest than animal-based iron sources, but it can’t hurt!
Please share your plantpowered pizza recipes in the comments below!
