PIZZA PIE + BALSAMIC-TOMATO SAUCE + ROASTED VEGETABLES

It’s been awhile since I’ve indulged in pizza. I was so inspired by this post from the Minimalist Baker and decided it was time to add another pizza recipe to the list. Not only does Minimalist Baker have nice simple recipes, a lot of them are vegan too, but the photography is superb! Take a look and find some inspiration for yourself through both the recipes and photography.

Of course, for this recipe we aren’t using cheese, only almond parmesan which is fantastic served on top of your slice of pizza pie. We’ll be dousing this pizza with a nice balsamic tomato sauce and lots of beautiful veggies making this a colorful pizza with lot’s of wonderful flavor.

I just thought it was so cool to cook your pizza in a skillet but feel free to use your normal method such as a pizza stone, which I also love, or other baking dish that your accustomed to (just adjust directions to your baking vessel).

After doing a quick google search I decided I liked this recipe using roasted vegetables and used that as a templet as well. There are a few steps to the recipe, but it moves along easily.

These are the colorful vegetables we’ll be using for our pizza pie. We’ll be roasting the vegetables for the pizza and the tomatoes for the sauce.

Once the roasted veggies are cooling, you’ll par-bake the pizza dough. I always seem to end up with pizza that is soggy in the middle, par-baking will help greatly with that.

The sauce can be made while the dough is par-baking. It only takes a few minutes. I definitely think you’ll love making the sauce from scratch.

I used sun-dried tomato paste here but regular tomato paste will be fine. The addition of the balsamic adds a nice flavor to the sauce. It’s a delicious combination!

PIZZA PIE + BALSAMIC-TOMATO SAUCE + ROASTED VEGETABLES

Skillet pizza with colorful roasted veggies and homemade balsamic tomato sauce. A light dusting of Almond Parmesan will finish it off perfectly!

• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 40 min
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: Serves 3 - 6
• Category: Entree, Pizza
• Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 ready made pizza dough (I use Trader Joe’s)
• fresh basil leaves, to serve
• red pepper flakes, to serve
• almond parmesan, to serve

Topping

• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 1 small orange bell pepper, sliced
• 1/3 red onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• pinch of mineral salt

Balsamic Tomato Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (sun-dried tomato paste is great too)
• 1 – 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings or a mix of oregano, basil, thyme, etc.
• mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Let dough rest: Coat an 8 or 10 inch cast iron skillet with olive oil. Remove dough from refrigerator, open package and place dough in center of the skillet, cover skillet with a clean dish towel. Let set for 30 minutes.

Roast veggies: Prep the mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper and onion. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, along with the tomatoes for the sauce, drizzle with olive oil and gently toss to coat, keeping the tomatoes together. Sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Pre-bake dough: Remove dish towel for skillet and gently flatten out dough, pushing up the edges about 1 – 1/2 inches. Place in oven on middle rack and bake for 10 minutes.

Make sauce: While dough is pre-cooking, add the warm tomatoes, and remaining ingredients for the balsamic tomato sauce to a food processor or blender and process until blended and fairly smooth. Taste for flavor adding anything extra you might like.

Bake pizza: Remove dough from the oven, layer with 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce and reserved roasted vegetables. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, until crust is golden. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before cutting to serve.

Serve with red pepper flakes and a good dusting of almond parmesan.

NOTES:

If your crust doesn’t become golden enough for you, place the skillet pizza under the broiler for a minute or so checking often so it doesn’t burn.

I would love to recommend a good pizza dough recipe but I haven’t made one yet and find the ready made dough is quick and works great for me. If you have a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe I’d love know about it!