Mushroom Tomato Pesto Pizza
Enjoy portobello mushroom tomato pesto pizza as a health food. It's stuffed with superfoods: tomato, whole grains, nuts, and spinach. And - it smells amazing while it bakes!
You can make your pizza vegetarian or vegan. The vegan version - sans cheese - tastes like bruschetta. I prefer it because the sweetness of the tomatoes and basil really comes out when it isn't overpowered by other flavors.
Prep time: 15 min; Total time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust (I make my own pizza crust)
- 1 bunch fresh basil (at least 1/4 c.)
- 2 tbsp.extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 c. spinach (or more)
- 2 tbsp. pine nuts (optional)
- 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large portobello mushroom (or a few crimini mushrooms - a.k.a. baby bellas)
- 1/4 c. mozzerella, to taste (optional)
Any pizza tastes best if it is made with a pizza stone. If you have one, place it on the bottom of your oven (or on the bottom rack if the bottom has coils) and heat it to 450 F for 15 minutes. During this time, assemble your pizza.
Begin with your crust. I make my own crust so at this stage it is still raw dough - you may need to adjust your recipe accordingly if you use a ready-made crust (the package should have instructions).
Instead of pizza sauce, I make a pesto. In a blender, mix basil, extra virgin olive oil, spinach, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. Blend until it is well mixed. For this pizza, I like to make my pesto very thick with lots of herbs and spinach.
Spread a thick layer of pesto on the pizza. If your crust is large, you will need more pesto. Just toss more basil, etc, into the blender until you have enough to cover your crust - measurements are not important to make a good pesto.
Once the pizza crust is coated thickly with pesto, slice tomato into large slices and lay it on top. Then, slice the mushroom into 4-6 slices and position those around the tomato.
If you wish to add cheese, sprinkle that over the top.
Bake on the pizza stone for 12-15 minutes at 450 F.
Tips
If you do not have a blender, simply brush the top of the pizza crust with extra
virgin olive oil. Then, mince garlic, and add it on top. Last, lay spinach and basil leaves over
your pizza before adding the other toppings.
If you are not vegan, try adding dots of mascarpone cheese on top of your pizza (with or without mozzerella). I first tried this on pizza in the Italian part of Switzerland and it is heavenly.
Add other veggies to your pizza if you wish - try sundried tomatoes, broccoli, and red peppers.
If you do not have pine nuts around, use walnuts instead.
If you make your own crust, try mixing herbs into the crust. You can also make extra pesto and mix that into the crust. I like making a Sundried Tomato and Herb Pizza Crust.
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