If you love basil (and have an abundance of it growing in your garden!), then this is the pizza for you. It is topped with both basil pesto and basil "ricotta cheese". Add some kale and tomatoes and you have one great pizza! I make my own pizza dough from scratch, but if it is easier for you, just buy a pre-made whole grain crust or dough. Engine 2 makes a nice whole grain crust which you can find in the frozen food section.
To get that "cheesy" flavor I use nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a very healthy deactivated yeast packed with B-vitamins, folic acid, selenium, zinc, and protein. It does not in any way resemble or taste like brewers yeast or bread yeast. It is a yellow flake (use the flake kind not the powder if possible) that dissolves into the food you add it to imparting that cheese-nut flavor. You can find it at Whole Foods or in health and natural food stores or order it online here.
Kale and Tomato Pizza with Basil "Ricotta cheese"
(pesto and ricotta were adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance "Isa Pizza")
12 to 14 inch whole grain pizza crust (Engine 2 has a good one in the frozen foods section)
1 cup pizza sauce (homemade or from a jar)
2 large kale leaves, center rib removed and chopped
1 tomato, sliced into rounds and then the slices cut into quarters
For Basil Pesto:
3 cups packed basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts
4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 tsp salt, optional
Juice of half a lemon
2-4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
For Basil "Ricotta Cheese"
1 block tofu (14 oz)
Juice of half a lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
10 basil leaves, snipped or finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt, optional
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Prepare Pesto: Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until it has a paste-like consistency. You may need to add more or less water to get the right consistency. Set aside
Prepare Basil "Ricotta Cheese": Crumble tofu into the bowl of an electric mixer. Turn on your mixer and blend until crumbly. (I use a KitchenAid electric mixer. If you don't have a mixer, just mix by hand, but it will take longer to get the right consistency). Add lemon juice, garlic, basil, optional salt and nutritional yeast. Blend until the consistency of cottage cheese. Set aside.
To assemble pizza: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place crust on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread pizza sauce over crust. Spoon the pesto and the "ricotta" all around the crust. Top with slices of tomato and the kale. Bake for 8-12 minutes. It is done when crust edges are light brown.
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