Who doesn't love pizza? For vegans it is one of the most sought after and debated foods in the blogosphere. Daiya or Follow Your Heart? Whole wheat or gluten free? Frozen or delivery? Any way you slice it, Pizza Night is the best night of the week -- especially when you make it fresh with ingredients from your garden. Or someone else's garden, as is the case at my house this year. Last fall our tomato plants had so many tomatoes that we were happy to share with everyone, even the hungry doves that feasted on our bounty every evening. (Doves, really, who knew?) This year, we got about six decent tomatoes. Fortunately, my husband's boss had a bumper crop that is still keeping us in Romas, Black Russians, Heirlooms and Yellow Pears.
Here's my recipe. I like to make a double batch and freeze half of it. It will keep 3 months in the freezer.
Cavewoman Pizza Sauce (enough for six pita pizzas)
1 1/2 lbs. fresh tomatoes (any variety or combination will work as long as they are flavorful)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teas. grape seed oil* or water
1 teas. dried oregano
1/2 teas. dried thyme
1/2 teas. crushed fennel seed
1/8 teas freshly cracked black pepper
3 T. salt-free tomato paste**
1/2 teas sea salt or 1 teas. Benson's Table Tasty***
- Dice tomatoes by hand or in a food processor. If you can, remove the larger seeds.
- Sauté the garlic in the oil or water over medium heat for about 1 minute or until fragrant, but not brown.
- Add the oregano, thyme, fennel seeds and black pepper and stir until combined and fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir until well combined. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Return heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until thick, stirring occasionally. This can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on the juiciness of your tomatoes.
- When the sauce has reached the desired consistency, taste it and add the salt or Benson's Table Tasty, if needed. If you like your sauce very smooth, you can blend it with an immersion blender, or very carefully in a regular blender. Just a few seconds of blending should do it.
*Most recipes call for olive oil, but olive oil should never be heated as it creates free radicals. Grape seed oil can withstand high temperatures without smoking.
**I have been making an effort to cut down on salt for my health and have found that most commercial brands are very high in sodium. Trader Joe's carries one that is salt-free.
***Benson's Table Tasty is a salt-free, chemical-free herb blend that substitutes for salt and adds a wonderful flavor.
We like to spread our sauce generously on whole wheat pita bread or naan. Our favorite all-natural brands are Hummus Bar and Grill (available at select Whole Foods in SoCal) and Gourmet India Food Company (available at various health food stores), respectively. Using pita or naan as the crust cuts down the prep time considerably and helps with portion control. Plus, your crusty is never soggy!
Next, we sprinkle on the mozzarella Daiya; fresh, organic green peppers; and top it off with some lightly sautéed Gimme Lean® Sausage. We bake our pizzas on a baking pan in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then put them under the broiler for 1 minute or until the cheese is bubbly.
Alyssa Boyle aka "The Cavewoman," is the owner of Cavewoman Bars and enjoys gathering fruits and veggies and turning them into mouth-watering creations with as little processing as possible. She took this photo of her dinner in her house. You can find her at www.cavewomanbars.com and on Twitter and Facebook.
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