Smooth. Crumbly. Soft. Mmm.. I just the love the feeling of dough in my hands. Whilst most people may enjoy running or watching movies to relax, I prefer to be in my kitchen. It is my safe haven. My Personal Niche. My space for creativity.
Whilst kneading and working the dough, I found myself thinking and reflecting a lot. In the background, I could hear the familiar voice from a church talk that Zoe and I had put on that morning. I looked down to see my hands dry and cracked, covered with flour. It felt great. I never minded getting my hands dirty, because there is so much beauty and so much joy to be found in hard work. Humming under my breath, I worked quickly. Without a actual rolling pin, I made do with a jar from the cupboard. I grinned just thinking about how unstoppable I was when I’m determined to accomplish something. There was no saying no when I set my mind to achieving something – like making this chickpea flour base pizza with a make-shift rolling pin and not to mention I had to run to class in 45 minutes.
VEGAN OPTION (Tomato-Pesto Base, Tofu Ricotta Cheese, Coriander, Coconut Pesto Drizzle)
For pizza number one, Zoe spread on some beautiful tofu ricotta cheese. I watched her carefully arrange the spinach leaves in a circle and sprinkling on the leftover Easter ham we had. Cautiously, she cracked the egg on the pizza. I had to hold my breathe, waiting for the moment the gorgeous yellow yolk would settle on the top. I watched it waddle and wiggle a little and then sit back in the space we had dug out for it. Phew. We carefully popped it into the oven eagerly waiting at the oven door to see how it was doing.
HEARTIER CARNIVORE OPTION (Tofu Ricotta Base, Ham, Spinach, Poached Egg)
Now onto Pizza number two. We decided on a tomato-pesto base. I mean why not? pesto, tomatoes, basil goes on bruschetta, salads all the time – so why not mix both? It was genius. We scooped spoonfuls of cheese and dabbed it all around the fiery red base. The contrast of color was really quite magnificent. But it looked even better after garnishing it with sprigs of coriander – and that was quite the spectacle! Not to mention the extra kick of freshness from the coriander.
Gotta enjoy a good pizza? Here is one that you could make under an hour (like I did right before school) and still be able to impress and fill tummies.
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 2-4 tbsp water (we used 3 tbsp)
- ¼ tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a bowl mix the chickpea flour, water, salt together together.
- Dust a board with chickpea flour. Turn out the dough onto the board and knead till smooth.
- Place your prepared dough in between two pieces of parchment and roll out as thin as possible, approximately 0.5 cm in thickness. (UPDATE: We remade this and rolled it to around 9.5 inches x 7 inches pizza base to get a thin crunchy crust).
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Tomato-Pesto Pizza:
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tbsp dairy-free basil pesto
- Tofu Ricotta
- Cherry tomatoes
- Optional: Coconut Pesto Drizzle: ½ tbsp Dairy-free Pesto + 1 tbsp Lite Coconut milk
- Breakfast Pizza:
- Spinach
- Ham/turkey
- 1- 2 eggs
- Tofu Ricotta
- Tomato Pesto Pizza: Spread the tomato-pesto base on the bottom (leaving a ¼"-1/2" border).
- Dollop your vegan cheese over the tomato base.
- Return to oven and bake for 2-3 minutes till crust is golden brown and crunchy.
- Add fresh cherry tomatoes, drizzle over the coconut pesto on top.
- Breakfast Pizza: Spread the tofu ricotta on another chickpea pizza base, leaving ¼-1/2" border.
- Arrange your spinach and ham/turkey on top.
- Crack your egg carefully so that the egg is sitting right at the center.
- Bake until your egg whites sets and your yolk is slightly runny.
- Sprinkle both with fresh basil/coriander.
Soy Allergies: You may substitute tofu ricotta with another type of vegan cheese - cashew cheese.
Tomato-Pesto Base, Tofu Ricotta Cheese, Coriander, Coconut Pesto Drizzle Pizza:
Tofu Ricotta Base, Ham, Spinach, Poached Egg Pizza:
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I love thin crust pizza and never knew it was possible to make a healthy version, thanks for sharing this 🙂
Thanks so much neither did we! This thin crust pizza is super healthy and easy to make, it does have a beany flavor to it. But with the right toppings it tastes delicious. Just make sure you roll it out as thin as possible and bake until crispy. You can check out our other pizza crust which also tastes delicious: https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/slab-pizzas-copycat-pulled-mexican-chicken-pizza-gf-paleo-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
Let us know how it goes!