Sizzle Pie

It seems to be a theme for my MoFo this year, but once again we were out running errands (buying new running shoes before a long run tomorrow morning) late after work, and needed a quick dinner. We decided on Sizzle Pie, because it was nearby-- the original is on East Burnside, and now there's one on West Burnside where Rocco's used to be across from Powell's bookstore.

This was my second pizza from Sizzle Pie. My first, the intriguingly named "New Maps Out of Hell" (creamy basil cashew spread, soy curls and three veggies. I chose spinach, pineapple and tomato) was a little disappointing. The spread was sparse, not creamy or particularly flavorful. The crust was also bland: not crisp, thin, flaky, thick or toothsome. Just medium all around.

Despite that lackluster experience, the pies have such inventive combinations that I was eager to try again. We ordered a "Steve Caballero"-- marinara, pepperoni, Italian sausage, green peppers, onions and Daiya cheeze. Fresh from the oven, it was painfully hot and tantalizingly fragrant. The pepperoni was rubbery and the onions weren't well cooked (I hate raw onions), but overall it was really satisfying and tasty. I will definitely try another of their plentiful, creative, vegan combos again soon.

White pizza with spinach & bacon

I haven't explored pizza dough recipes at all since our household became gluten free. I haven't had to-- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust mix is awesome! Each bag makes two big pizzas that mostly fill an 18" x 13" jelly roll pan or cookie sheet if you like your crust thin, as I do.

I've made a lot of pizzas recently, and while the classic-- tomato sauce, tempeh bacon, spinach and bell pepper-- is delicious, themed pizzas let my creativity shine. Thai (peanut sauce, faux chicken, spinach and bean sprouts), Mexican (tomato sauce with cumin, coriander, chili powder and oregano, Soyrizo, spinach and roasted corn) and Indian (tomato sauce blended with Tasty Bites channa masala, spinach and thin slices of potato) have been favorites, but then we needed a new idea.

Enter the leftover cashew ricotta I had made for a fancy dinner. To be used as the base sauce! With that one change, our classic pizza became a luscious meal.

White pizza with spinach & bacon

vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 batch of vegan, gluten-free pizza dough
  (One bag of Bob'sRed Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix makes two)
• 1/2 batch of cashew ricotta
  Veganomicon has a great recipe.
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 batch of tempeh bacon
  The recipe in Vegan Brunch is my go-to, but here's another. Make sure to use wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce, which nearly always has wheat. Tamari is also a lot saltier, so cut back by about 1/3 the amount and replace with water if needed for volume.
• 1/2 cup grated Follow Your Heart Monterrey Jack or Daiya
• red pepper flakes and/or fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bob's Red Mill dough instructions call for 425, but my super-thin crust gets too dark at that temperature. If you like yours thicker, try 425.
• Prepare pizza dough according to package directions. Usually for GF doughs, this involves pre-baking the crust so that it stays crisp under the toppings. Also make sure your ricotta and tempeh are ready, although you don't have to cook the tempeh separately.
• Spread crust with a thin layer of ricotta. This stuff is rich, so a little goes a long way! Top with a layer of spinach, then temeph bacon. Scatter with cheese if desired, but go easy-- the ricotta is plenty cheesy.
• Bake for 10 minutes, check the crust's color, turn, and bake another 10 minutes-- less if the crust is already getting brown after the first 10.
• Sprinkle with pepper and enjoy!