Vegetarian pizza

1 h
Vegetarian pizza

Vegetarian pizza with lots of flavour. Topped with a delicious, homemade tomato sauce, baked aubergines and olives, the ingredients are fresh and simple to prepare. Remember that good flavour development takes time, both when the dough rises and the tomato sauce simmers, making your vegetarian pizza rich in umami taste.

Ingredients

Dough for pizza bases

Yeast
20 g
Water (lukewarm)
300 ml
Pizza flour (e.g. Tipo 00)
400 g
Olive oil
1 tbsp
Sugar
1 tsp
Coarse salt
½ tsp

Baked aubergines

Aubergines (approximately 600 g)
2
Olive oil
1 tbsp
Coarse salt
1 tsp
Dried chilli flakes
1 tsp

Tomato sauce

Olive oil
1 tbsp
Yellow onion, finely chopped
1
Small garlic clove, crushed
1
Peeled tomatoes (400 g)
1 can
Bay leaf
1
Coarse salt
½ tsp
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Dried basil
2 tsp
Dried oregano
½ tsp
Tomato purée
3 tbsp

Vegetarian pizza

Grated mozzarella cheese 15%
200 g
Red onion, thinly sliced
1

For serving

Olives
75 g
Fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Dough

  • Crumble the yeast and dissolve it in the water. Add flour, oil, sugar, and salt.
  • Knead the dough until it is smooth and flexible (approximately 8 minutes).
  • Cover the dough in cling film and let rise in a warm place (approximately 30 minutes).
  • Turn the dough out onto a table and divide it into four buns. Cover with cling film and let rise for another 30 minutes.

Baked aubergines

  • Preheat the oven to 250 °C
  • Cut the aubergines into slices and then into long strips.
  • Spread them on two sheets of baking paper.
  • Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and chilli flakes.
  • Bake in the middle of the oven until they are golden (approximately 15 minutes).

Tomato sauce

  • Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
  • Add the tomatoes and the bay leaf. Let the mixture cook on low heat and without the lid for approximately 15 minutes.
  • Add salt, pepper, basil, and oregano.
  • Let it boil for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree (the mixture should now be smooth and thick).
  • Remove the bay leaf and let the sauce cool.

Assembling the pizza

  • Preheat the oven to 250 °C and heat two baking trays in the oven.
  • Press and shape the dough into four pizza bases (approximately 25 cm in diameter).
  • Place the bases on baking paper and spread the filling on top.
  • Pull the baking paper onto the hot baking trays and bake them in the middle of the oven until the pizzas are crispy and the filling is golden (approximately 12-14 minutes).

For serving

  • Finish with olives and fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Vegetarian pizza

What vegetables go well together on pizza?

You don’t need to look further than an authentic Italian restaurant’s menu for inspiration. Pizza ortolana is an obvious choice which directly translates to ‘the greengrocer’s pizza’. In its most basic form, toppings include eggplant, zucchini, fresh basil, generous slices of buffalo mozzarella (make sure to double check if rennet is used in the cheesemaking process if you’re creating a vegetarian dinner) and a light drizzle of olive oil right before serving. A ricotta, sundried tomato and baby spinach combo is also highly recommended, and fully vegetarian.

Is mozzarella cheese vegetarian?

Generally, no. Most mozzarellas, like many other cheeses, use rennet (an enzyme that is extracted from an animal’s stomach) during the cheesemaking process. The good news is that rennet-free mozzarella is relatively easy to obtain and works especially great for pizzas due to its softer texture. If the label doesn’t specifically state that the cheese is vegetarian, check the list of ingredients and avoid anything that says ‘animal enzyme’, ‘rennet’ or ‘enzymes’.

Which cheeses are always vegetarian?

The majority of cheeses contain rennet, an enzyme found in the fourth stomach of herbivorous animals that is used to separate the milk’s solid curds from the liquid whey. Softer cheeses like paneer, ricotta and cream cheese typically don’t use rennet but it’s always safer to check the label. If not specifically labelled as vegetarian, go through the list of ingredients. Rennet is often listed as ‘animal enzyme’, while vegetarian cheeses will typically say ‘microbial enzyme’ or ‘vegetarian enzyme’.

Why don’t they put green olives on pizza?

While black olives are a more typical pizza topping, there is no reason to not reach for the green variety instead. Some argue that green olives – which are typically cured instead of cooked – are meant to be eaten raw and thus don’t belong on a pizza. Their ripened siblings, black olives, are not as bitter and milder in flavour, making them a less overpowering topping when it comes to pizza. Experiment with both and see which one your family prefers!

Other recipes

See more

Your green choice of pizza

This recipe makes it surprisingly easy, and not at all a hardship with its umami combination of deep, rich, and savoury flavours. Versatile enough to create an endless number of topping combinations, this recipe will soon become one of the family’s favourites.

Tomato sauce like a pro

When it comes to any tomato-based sauce, low, slow and patient is where the magic happens. A short cooking time will preserve the bright, fresh, and acidic taste of the tomatoes while a longer one will deepen the flavour and thicken the sauce for an intense umami-ness that is difficult to describe. It’s arguably the star of this recipe and brings together every other ingredient into one of the best vegetable pizzas you have ever tasted.

The secret to stunning baked aubergines

Because the average eggplant is 90 percent water, make sure that you give each slice enough room to evaporate the excess liquid and transform into a beautifully caramelised pizza topping. This fruit is also a super-absorber so go light on the oil, a light brush is plenty for the baking process.

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