Rosemary Grape Focaccia

Happy Easter to everyone who is celebrating it today!  We will be having our family Easter dinner tonight, and I'll be contributing a vegetarian entree for my sisters and I to eat instead of ham.  I chose a new recipe from Vegan Planet for a couscous cake topped with a spring vegetable saute - I hope it turns out as good as it sounds!

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to come up with an Easter themed recipe for my blog this year, but I still have a tasty recipe for you today...and I also have a few recipes inspired by my Singapore/Thailand trip coming up next!

When I first tried roasted grapes in this quinoa salad, I started thinking of more ways that I could use them.  Then Heather of Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes gave me a great suggestion when she said she makes a focaccia with roasted grapes and rosemary. I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so I knew I had to try it myself as soon as I could!

I had always thought that focaccia required some kind of special dough, but when I looked for recipes to follow, I found out that you can just use any regular pizza dough.  So I turned to my trusty Vegan Planet once again to get a recipe for traditional pizza dough, although I changed the flours so that my dough was made with half whole spelt and half light spelt. This resulted in a slightly darker focaccia than you would usually see, but at least it was a bit more nutritious!

Once you have the dough prepared, the focaccia itself is pretty easy to make.  I just tossed some sliced shallots with garlic, olive oil and dried rosemary (since I didn't have fresh), and spread that over top of the dough. Next, I took my grapes and pressed them down into the dough.  Then it goes into the oven to bake, and when it's done you can sprinkle some coarse salt on top like a traditional focaccia.

This was a simple combination of ingredients that worked really well together! Even though there was no sauce and the toppings were minimal, they still provided a lot of flavour and I loved the combination of the sweet juicy grapes with the savory shallot-rosemary mixture.

I think this would make a great appetizer if you cut the focaccia into smaller pieces, but it also made a great lunch for me on its own!

Rosemary Grape Focaccia
Inspired by Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes and adapted from Vegan Planet and various other sources

1 recipe of your favourite vegan pizza dough (I used the Traditional Pizza Dough from Vegan Planet made with half whole and half light spelt flour)

2 small shallots

2 small cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dried rosemary (can substitute fresh rosemary)

1 cup red grapes

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Roll out the dough to a 9x13 inch rectangle (about ½ inch thick).

Peel the shallots and cut in half lengthwise, then slice thinly. Place sliced shallots in a bowl along with the minced garlic and olive oil. Stir to combine, then add the rosemary and stir again.

Spread the shallot mixture over the dough, pressing down gently. Distribute the grapes evenly on top of the shallot mixture and press each one down into the dough.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until dough is golden and shallots are browned.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt if desired.

Makes about 6 servings/pieces. (Note: I made half the recipe for a smaller 3-piece focaccia, as shown in the pictures) 

Beet Crust Pizza

One of my favourite traditions on Friday nights is to have pizza for dinner, whether its homemade or delivery.  This week, I have a different type of pizza to share with you - a beet and sunflower seed crust pizza, topped with hummus, beet greens and parsley.

It may sound and look a bit unusual for a pizza, but it actually turned out really good!  I would have been skeptical of the idea myself, but my sister was the one who found the recipe and tried it out first, so I knew from her recommendation that I would like it!

The recipe for the crust comes from Brendan Brazier, author of The Thrive Diet. There is no flour in the crust, making this a good option for people on a gluten-free diet.  Instead, it's made up of a mixture of ground sunflower seeds and raw beets, with some garlic and parsley thrown in for extra flavour. All the ingredients are combined in a food processor to form a sticky dough, then baked in the oven. The result was a slightly sweet pizza crust with a nice texture - crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

For the rest of the pizza, I went with a simple hummus as the sauce, topped with some reduced balsamic vinegar, cooked beet greens and more parsley. I loved the combination of hummus with the beet-flavoured crust, but feel free to use your own favourite pizza toppings!

Beet Crust Pizza with Hummus and Beet Greens
Crust recipe adapted from Brendan Brazier, as seen here

Crust:

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup grated raw beet

2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp coconut oil

Pinch of kosher salt

Pizza:

About 2 cups chopped beet greens
3-4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup hummus
Fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 300°.

Place the sunflower seeds in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients for the crust and process until the mixture forms a sticky ball.

Spread the mixture onto a well-greased baking sheet. Use a spatula to form a circle about ¼” thick. Pinch the edges to form a crust.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chopped beet greens and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and immediately dunk in a large bowl filled with ice water.  Once cool, drain the beet greens and dry with towels.

Next, make a balsamic reduction by simmering the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, until it has reduced to about one-third of the original amount.

When the crust is done, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

Spread the hummus on top of the crust, then drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Top with beet greens.

Place pizza back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes.

Remove and let cool before eating. Top with fresh parsley if desired. (Note: The crust is fairly delicate - mine still held together well enough to pick up the pieces by hand, but you might find it easier to eat with a knife and fork!)

Makes 1 small pizza (4 slices).

This was submitted to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert & Dogs.

Indian Naan Pizza with Paneer and Corn

When it comes to pizza, a simple margherita will please me, and if I could choose my own toppings, I usually stick with my two simple favourites of tomatoes and pineapple. But I also like trying out different or unconventional toppings, like the delicious asparagus pizza that my parents make.

But my newest favourite pizza topping that I just discovered this summer is corn! Apparently corn is a popular topping for pizza in Ireland, but I’ve never seen it on any pizzas here in Canada before. And after having it a couple of times now, I don’t know why it took me so long to try!

Corn goes well with lots of other toppings, like roasted veggies, or tomatoes with pesto. But I think this variation that I came up with the other weekend is definitely a strong candidate for becoming my new favourite pizza!

I always love the combination of sweet and spicy flavours, especially when it comes to Indian food. So when I saw this Indian pizza, I wanted to make it right away! But I also got inspired by my recent corn craze and decided to add a spicy Indian corn mixture to the pizza, based on this recipe for corn chaat.

It was no surprise to me that I absolutely loved the result! There were so many dimensions of flavours and textures to enjoy – from the sweet mango sauce, to the crunchy spicy corn, to the soft and chewy bites of paneer. And I recommend adding the cilantro too, it really added to all the other flavours.

The list of ingredients for the recipe may seem a bit lengthy, but each of the steps is actually very easy and this doesn’t take long to put together. And because these are made on naan bread, there is no rolling or stretching of the dough required, and the baking time is very short.

Indian Naan Pizza with Paneer and Corn
Adapted from The Novice Chef

For the paneer:
1/2 cup cubed paneer
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 tsp curry paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tbsp lime juice

Salt and pepper

For the corn:

1 ear of fresh corn

lemon juice 

amchur powder (leave out if you don't have this)

chat masala (this is my favourite Indian spice mixture, but you can substitute other spices if you don't have this, such as garam masala)

salt and pepper

For the pizza:

2 naan breads

1/4 cup pizza sauce (I used the roasted garlic flavour)

2 tbsp mango chutney

about 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (I used a bit less)

corn mixture (from above)

paneer (from above)

chopped cilantro for garnish

First, prepare the paneer by slicing it into small cubes. Mix the remaining ingredients for the marinade (yogurt through to salt & pepper) and pour into a ziplock bag. Add the paneer to the bag and mix around. Let sit in the fridge for about two hours.

Prepare the corn by husking it and then slicing off the kernels. Place the kernels in a bowl and squirt lemon juice over them (enough to cover). Sprinkle with amchur, chat masala, salt and pepper (I just judged the amounts by eye). Let the mixture sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

When the paneer is done marinating, pour the contents of the bag into a saucepan and saute on medium-high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. 

Next, create your pizzas. Lay out two naan breads on a baking sheet. Mix the pizza sauce with mango chutney and spread evenly over the two breads. Then sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the sauce. Next, top with the corn and paneer. 

Bake pizzas in the oven at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. 

Serves two people. If you are making this for one person, cut all the ingredients in half, or make both anyway and save the second pizza for lunch (once you taste how good this is, you will be happy you have another one to eat the next day!)