Feel Good Guru's Polenta Pizza

Feel Good Guru's Polenta Pizza

It’s really hard to find a good prepared vegan polenta crust for pizza, yet it’s soooo easy to make. Don't be intimidated thinking you'll have to stand over the stove stirring constantly for an hour. With this easy-shmeasy polenta crust, you whip it up, cover it and walk away. The polenta takes the shape and size of the pan you cook it in and browns up in the oven on a cookie sheet. Simply top with your favorite sauce and toppings, or follow the recipe below for a perfect vegan polenta pizza!

Polenta Crust:

2 cups organic polenta or cornmeal
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 tsp sea salt
tiny drizzle of olive oil

Bring water or broth to a boil in a 10 or 12-inch diameter pot with sea salt and olive oil. Whisk in polenta slowly until it’s all incorporated. Give it a stir for about a minute, then turn the heat to low, cover the pot and leave it for 40 minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow to sit for another 10 minutes. Turn the pot upside down, carefully dropping the polenta onto a cutting board, and slice it through into two equal round pizza crusts.

Bake on a cookie sheet for about half an hour at 350 or until crispy around the edges.

Heirloom Tomato Sauce:

This can be made in advance. Quarter a pound of heirloom tomatoes and place face up on a lightly oiled roasting pan. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Add 6-8 whole cloves of garlic and roast about half an hour or until lightly caramelized.

Pulse with an immersion blender or mash with a fork. Add your favorite seasonal fresh herbs.

Toppings:

Slice and chop any and all of your favorite seasonal market veggies and herbs and/or the following:
Maple Shiitakes - in a frying pan on medium, toss sliced shiitakes with a little splash each of tamari and maple syrup.

finely sliced red onions, zucchini rounds, Tofurky Italian sausages

Herbed Cashew “Cheese”:

1 cup organic cashews (you can used almonds as well, just soak them overnight in spring water)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1 tsp fresh basil or your favorite seasonal herb
1/4 cup spring water

Blend all ingredients in a food processor and add water slowly until a thick, cream-cheese-like consistency is formed. You want to be able to form little “cheeseballs”, so careful not to add too much water.

Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. (I enjoy a clove or two of garlic and sometimes more lemon juice, depending how juicy the lemon is;) Use a teaspoon to form little balls to arrange on your pizza.

Bake pizza for another 10 minutes just to heat toppings. Garnish pizza with whole fresh basil leaves.



moira nordholt
www.feelgoodguru.com

@feelgoodguru on twitter