Look carefully at the pictures... can you spot what's 'missing' from the pizza? That's right - this is a cheese-less pizza, but an extremely tasty one! I posted pictures on my Instagram feed of a couple of pizzas I made during Veganuary and had requests for recipes, so, (two months later), here you go.
The key to a perfect pizza without cheese is to pack it with flavour and texture. I steer clear of soft toppings like mushrooms, grilled peppers, artichokes etc which melt in the mouth, (a mushy-topped pizza won't cut the mustard), and instead go for crispy and crunchy toppings which will do the same job as a crispy cheese crust.
Similarly, it is really important to pack flavours on to the pizza, so I usually add sun-dried tomatoes which replace the saltiness of cheese, along with plenty of fresh chillis, (seeds and all, though how spicy you go is up to you!), oregano, black pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
For toppings, I've used curly kale, (which has just enough time to roast and crisp up in the oven), as does purple sprouting broccoli, then roughly chopped hazelnuts, (which add both crunch and protein), and chilli. For the base I usually use passata with added garlic, (see below), with sliced red onion scattered over, but if you don't have any to hand either plain passata or even a jar of pasta sauce would also do a great job.
Broccoli, Kale, Chilli & Hazelnut Pizza (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 500 g Wholemeal Bread Mix
- 200 ml Passata with Garlic
- 1 red onion peeled and finely sliced
- 6 sun-dried tomatoes roughly chopped
- 75 g curly kale woody stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped
- 6-8 stalks purple sprouting broccoli lower half of stalks removed
- 1 red chilli finely sliced
- handful hazelnuts roughly chopped
- dried oregano
- black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Make up the bread mix according to packet instructions. Knead and leave to rise in a warm place for c.45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings and preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. If you are using a pizza stone, put it in the oven now. (Check whether your oven has a special pizza setting - many do, and it makes a huge difference).
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and divide into two. Knead each section into a round-ish ball, then roll out into a 30cm circle with a rolling pin.
- When all the toppings are ready, and the oven has reached full temperature, remove the pizza stone from the oven, (or lightly oil a baking tray), place the dough on the stone/tray, top with half the passata, then onion, kale, broccoli, chilli and hazelnuts, then sprinkle with oregano and black pepper, and finally drizzle with olive oil. Repeat for the second pizza.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until toppings are turning brown and the base is cooked throughout.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Nutrition
Lovely pizzas...nice article!!
I need that pizza slice plate (and the pizza too, of course)!
Gotta love a cheeseless pizza! Stunning photos and I WANT that pizza stone and the copper cutter NOW! Am NUTS about copper kitchenware too 🙂 Thank you for entering #CreditCrunchMunch
I love the idea of hazelnuts on a pizza - I've never thought of putting nuts on (except perhaps pine nuts) but I imagine it works well. We've been making our own pizzas for a couple of years now, since we went on an Italian baking course but I have to admit that we haven't been very adventurous with our toppings!
I agree with Helen too - beautifully neat and round 🙂
Great recipe and idea - am recently vegetarian and am definitely now moving quickly towards an entirely vegan diet. Recipes like this make it all seem so much easier - no need to miss out on fave foods like pizza - just be more creative in their creation.
Great site as well!
What a lovely pizza Kate, and I am super impressed at how round it is, mine always look completely deformed.
Lovely fully loaded toppings, who really needs the cheese?
Thanks for sharing with #CreditCrunchMunch and #ExtraVeg
That looks fabulous! I really miss having cheese on my pizza but I think this would take that longing away. I'm pinning this recipe now!
Sorry meant to say thank you for entering #CreditCrunchMunch - to caught in the moment looking at these beautiful pictures:-)
Wow you pizza looks amazing, stunning photography:-)
I love this pizza...it looks so pretty and delicious and yet it sounds really healthy and easy to make - what more can a girl want! 🙂 Eb x
IT looks beautiful and really tasty even without the cheese! And normally I love lots of cheese on my pizzas!
Looks fantastic! Well done. 🙂
YUM YUM YUM YUM.. This looks great. I really love broccoli and chilli as a combo - I often pair them with pasta. Also massive shout out to Aldi. Love their products.
Oh I have pizza plate envy! Those are just brilliant and your pizza looks lovely too.
Like you I am not a fan of mushy pizza etihers so would really love to try this.
This pizza looks beautiful!
this pizza sounds to have enough of health benefit with the broccoli, thank you for sharing
Trying desperately to eat less cheese and will definitely give this a go. Hazelnuts sound like an intriguing addition.