Missy Higgins ~ Nightminds
NIN ~ I Do Not Want This
Richie Kotzen ~ Feed My Head
Roy Orbison ~ Too Soon To Know
Elgar: Variations on an original theme "Enigma"
NIN ~ Heresy
The Union ~ Holy Roller
Bach: Cello Suite #5 in C Minor Gavotte
Keith Urban ~ Kiss A Girl
The Cranberries ~ Electric Blue
Lady Antebellum ~ Need You Now
Heart ~ Black on Black
The Animals ~ How You've Changed
Brandi Carlile ~ Until I Die
Since going completely gluten free I have missed certain foods..badly. One of them being my monthly treat of tomato and olive pizza. I was never a deep pan pizza person and if that was the only pizza on offer I would always refuse. I liked the thinner stone baked bases and finding a good vegan, gluten free, yeast free pizza base has been a challenge and so far I have been unsuccessful. It was during a desperate search online that I found DeliciouslyElla's blog. What a revelation! Her blog is light and cheery but also filled with great recipes. I was lost in there for a good hour and came away with a pizza base, superfood bread and seeded bread roll recipe. The woman is a genius..the kind that makes you question your own work and feel like..."What's the point in trying?.." Then I got a grip...lol
Yesterday I set about making the pizza. It was different and intriguing because it didn't contain any flour either wheat or gluten free...or yeast. It was a simple crust made from soaked quinoa, apple cider vinegar, dried herbs and chilli flakes. And for Ella's recipe simply click here. So the night before ML put the required amount of quinoa into soak and then in morning I set about making the crust. It really is a very simple recipe IF you have a blender with some guts which I don't and so after half an hour of blending I was beginning to lose the will to live and my blender was screaming an SOS. I assume that Ella is fortunate to have a Vitamix or the like. Lucky lady. However, much later I finally had a consistency that wasn't just whole quinoa seeds and looked a little like the batter Ella had hoped I would have. I carefully smoothed it over an 8" pizza pan and then left it to cook in the oven.
I don't miss cheese at all and I must admit the thought of a thick layer of fatty, globby cheese on a pizza makes me feel sick these days. Took a while for my 'cheese tooth' to die away but I am very happy it has. And that goes as far as using the vegan cheezes...be them homemade or store bought. For a long time now I've enjoyed a specific pizza topping so I knew that would be the tester topping for this pizza base. A rich garlicky tomato sauce, fresh tomato slices, intensely salty black olives and almost bitter rocket leaves. Oooh and oregano...and I'm not precious about it being fresh..just a healthy dose of the dried stuff in my tomato sauce. Once my base was cooked and it cooked very quickly and looked delicious. (Photo below) I set about making my toppings and then sat patiently whilst it baked in the oven. The smell almost made me tearful...hey! I said almost...lol It's been a while..
The results...were simply delicious. There is no convincing anyone that this is a 'regular' pizza base because it is clearly not. The quinoa base is dense in texture but carries the toppings well. I enjoyed every mouthful and felt very satisfied afterwards and didn't feel 'cheated' of my old wheat based crusts. Maybe it's because I recognise how ill they made me and have no desire or inclination of going back to them...or maybe I just enjoyed the intense flavours of my favourite toppings and really enjoyed the quinoa crust too. I will be making this when those pizza cravings hit. Thank you Ella..now I can't wait to try your bread recipe and the rolls.
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| Rocket & Olive Pizza with Ella's Quinoa Pizza Base |
Rocket & Olive Pizza with Ella's Quinoa Pizza Base Makes 1 8" pizza
1 8" Quinoa Pizza Base
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| Deliciously Ella's Quinoa Pizza Base |
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 vine ripened tomato, thinly sliced
6 black olives, halved
1 handful of rocket leaves
In a small bowl whisk the tomato paste, oil and oregano until it is well combined and quite fluffy and then spread evenly over the pizza base. Then place the tomato slices on the sauce followed by the olives and then scatter with the rocket leaves. Place back into the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes. Or you could leave off the rocket leaves and place them on after the baking time. Choice is yours...serve
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Thursday is a splendid one....
~Red~
NB: The quinoa pizza base idea and recipe is not mine and therefore I take no credit for it whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Ella @ Deliciously Ella and hers alone. I thank her being an inspiration...~R~
