Vegan Pizza, you won’t miss the cheese, honest!

When I started cooking vegan food I didn’t want to cook dishes where I would miss the cheese so pizza was definitely not on the list.  However, this pizza hits the spot.  The secret is in the slow roasted tomatoes teamed with the roasted pine nuts.  Try it and see!

Ingredients (1 x 12” pizza)

1 ready made 12” vegan pizza base

4 tablespoons of passata

1 garlic clove

Half a large courgette, sliced into rounds and then quarters

9 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 large handful of pine nuts

Scattering of olives

2 mushrooms, sliced

Yeast flakes (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C.  Slice up the courgette into rounds and then cut each round into quarters. Put onto a baking tray in a single layer with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt.

Chop the tomatoes into quarters and add to the baking tray in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of salt. Bake in the oven for half an hour before removing the courgettes and putting them to one side.  Put the tomatoes back in for another 15-30 minutes until they look dehydrated and gummy.  Believe me it is worth doing this as the tomatoes become super tasty.

In the meantime make your sauce for the base.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan on a medium heat, add the chopped garlic or use a garlic press.  Add 4 tablespoons of passata and simmer for 15 minutes, you may have to turn the heat down to low. Take it off the heat when the sauce has thickened and reduced.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until they start to lightly brown.  Keep your eye on them though as they can burn easily.

When the tomatoes are out of the oven, spread the sauce onto the pizza base.  Add the courgettes, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives. Sprinkle the pine nuts into the gaps and bake in the oven as per the base instructions. When it comes out, sprinkle with yeast flakes and enjoy!