Pizza on point!

When one cannot enjoy dairy or gluten, one would think one would not be able to indulge in pizza. However, I stand to correct that false supposition. Gluten-free crusts and dairy-free cheeses have made the beloved pizza universally available to all, even to those with the most restrictive of diets. And a homemade version of both those pizza components make your pie all the better!

Let’s start with the “cheese.” Homemade tofu ricotta. It’s creamy, it’s delicious, and it has a wonderful “cheesy” umami flavor. I make this cheese using my same two secret weapons for my creamy vegan mac: miso paste and nutritional yeast. And, of course, the tofu is the main ingredient here.

Crust time. I’ve made a couple different visions of gluten-free pizza crust, one with black beans and cooked rice, and one with just cooked rice. Both are simple and delicious, but this time, I wanted to try something new. I made a dough out of buckwheat flour and cornmeal. Buckwheat, although deceivingly indicative of “wheat,” is not related to the wheat grain at all; rather it is a relative of the rhubarb plant and contains no gluten whatsoever. I mixed the cornmeal and buckwheat flour in a bowl with water and salt until it formed a nice, uniform dough. I then spread it out on a baking sheet to make one large pizza. But, I recommend making a few 10-12-inch individual pizzas instead of one large one, as it will be easier to remove from the baking sheet and flip over to crisp the crust on both sides. My epic failure of an attempt to flip the crust resulted in an earth-quaked surface that I had to piecemeal back together. Smaller crusts would have been more manageable to flip over. I baked the crust at 450 F for about 12 minutes, or until the surface began to crisp. If I were able to flip the dough, as I intended, I would have baked it for another 10 minutes so the other side could crisp as well.

And what is a pizza without toppings? Butternut squash and garlicky greens were my toppings of choice for this autumnal pie. I peeled and roasted a butternut squash with olive oil and salt and pepper, then chopped it into large cubes. I also sautéed some baby spinach, baby kale, and baby chard in some olive oil and garlic.

To assemble the pizza, I spread the creamy tofu ricotta all over the par-baked edible mosaic, which I was not able to flip after all. Then I scattered the pieces of butternut squash and garlicky greens all over the cheese layer. I baked the pizza again at 450 F for about 15 minutes, or until everything was thoroughly heated through.

Due of my lack of judgment to make one ginormous pie, my husband and I could not get the pizza off the baking sheet and onto a cutting board, so we just devoured the large fragmented pieces we tore from the pizza right off the baking sheet. It was a glorious, delicious mess! Crumbs all over the kitchen floor and giant smiles on our giggling faces…I’d say that was one successful meal!

2 cups buckwheat flour

1 cup corn meal

2 cups water

1 tsp. salt

Olive oil for the baking sheet

1 1-lb. block of firm tofu*

2 Tbsp. white miso paste

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

½ tsp. garlic powder

1 large butternut squash

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

5 cups baby greens, such as spinach, kale, chard

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and black pepper to taste

First roast the butternut squash. This can be done a day or two ahead of time to save time when making the pizza. Peel the butternut squash. Cut in half vertically and scoop out the seeds. Place both halves on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast at 400 F for about 45 minutes or until fork-tender. Set aside to cool and then chop into bite-sized chunks.

For the tofu ricotta, place all ingredients in a food processor and puree until all ingredients are uniformly mixed. Set aside. This can also be made a day or two ahead of time.

*If you have soft tofu, you will need to drain some of the water out. Put the tofu on a plate. Set another small plate on top of the tofu. Place a heavy can on top of that. Allow the weight of the can to push some of the moisture out of the tofu, leaving it to rest for about an hour. Spill out the water that has accumulated on the plate, and drain for longer if necessary.

Next, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 450 F. In a large bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, corn meal, salt, and water with a spatula. Once the ingredients are even mixed, pour about ¼ or 1/3 of the dough (depending on how many pizzas you want to make) out onto an oiled baking sheet. Spread out with a spoon to a desired crust thickness (about ½-inch thick). Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake your pizzas for about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently turn each pizza crust over to cook on the other side. Place back in the oven and back for another 10 minutes.

While the pizza crusts are baking, quickly saute the garlic and greens. Wash and spin-dry the greens. Heat a large non-stick pan with olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic. Saute for a minute, then add the greens. Place a lid on the pan and allow the greens to wilt. Stir to evenly distribute the garlic. Once fully cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.

Once the pizza crusts are cooked on both sides, spread the tofu ricotta evenly over each pie. Then scatter the butternut squash cubes and sautéed greens over the pizzas. Place the pizzas back in the oven and bake for about 10-15 more minutes, or until everything is heated through. Remove from the oven and slide the pizzas onto a cutting board. Enjoy!