Plant Powered Pizzas – “Sweet Potato w/Balsamic Drizzle” 

For those of you who have been following along for a while, you will remember the series I did last summer on Nicecream. At least I found it pretty unforgettable! Probably because it was so delicious!

I learned a lot from taking on that series, and I felt that by challenging myself I was able to up my game in the kitchen a lot.

Well, it’s a new year, and it’s time for a new creative challenge: Pizza.

Right now you might be asking “Why Pizza?”, to which I would respond “why not?!”. It’s versatile. Who doesn’t love pizza?

So over the coming weeks I plan to bring you 10 Plant Powered Pizzas – because these pizzas are going to offer you so much more than a full tummy. They are going to be full of nutrients that make you feel good and function well.

First up on the line: Sweet Potato w/Balsamic Drizzle 

Gluten free/ Dairy free/ Nut free/ Egg free – Recipe makes 3 Pizzas

Ingredients 

Crust

• 4 Cups Gluten Free Wheat Flour*
• 4.5 tsp active yeast
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp coarse salt

Pizza Toppings

• Oregano
• 3 TBSP tomato paste
• 1/2 medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• 1/4 purple onion, thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Balsamic reduction for drizzling

Directions:

* For this recipe I once again borrowed the recipe from Martha Stewart. It’s just so easy. However I substituted the all-purpose flour for a gluten free all-purpose. The one I used tasted great, however it didn’t rise as much as previous dough batches. It also needed more oil to bind it than Martha’s recipe asks for. 

To make the dough, sprinkle the yeast into 1.5 cups of warm water. After about five minutes it should start to foam. Then you want to mix in the sugar, oil, and salt. Once that is all whisked up, add the flour. Cover the dough and leave in a room temperature area for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the dough is ready, split it into 3 pizzas. Top each pizza with 1 tbsp of tomato sauce (or more if you like it saucy!) Follow that by sprinkling oregano over the entire pizza, and then distribute your chopped garlic evenly. Lastly, layer the spinach, sweet potato, and onion.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 25-30 minutes. They are done when the crust begins to brown. Drizzle pizzas with balsamic reduction.

I would describe this pizza as sweet and salty, with just the right amount of softness vs. crunch.

Sweet potato is high in vitamins A and C, both of which are antioxidants and help your body fight against free radical damage. Balsamic helps your body produce pepsin, which improves your metabolism by helping your body breakdown protein. Spinach is high in iron, which works in your body to produce red blood cells. Lets not forget about the onions – onions contain flavanoids that boost your body’s immune system. 

Real food makes me feel so good. After eating this I was full, but still light on my feet.

I will be uploading a new plant powered pizza every week, so stay tuned every Friday for another healthy, nutritious, delicious pizza!