Basil Pesto Green Pizza

So remember that pesto I made the other day? We had some leftovers, so I decided to use it as an alternative to tomato sauce on a homemade veggie pizza.

Well, we planned on making it vegan. But then we started thinking about how good some fresh mozzarella would be on it, all melty and hot out of the oven. I caved and bought a ball of the delicious cheese from Stew Leonard's. And oh, was it worth it. Still, this pizza is easily made vegan by leaving out the cheese!

To the right,  after I let them brown a bit with a touch of olive oil. You want to make sure the onions are cooked as much as you really want them to be, because the pizza won't be in the oven long enough to fully cook the onions. I like onions on my pizza soft and slightly caramelized. If you want to fully caramelize the onions, keep browning them past thestage you see in the photo until the onions are golden brown. 

Above, you can see all the ingredients I added to the pizza before cooking. After rolling out the dough on a cookie sheet (make sure you grease!!!!) I spread a layer of basil pesto, broccoli florets, some chopped garlic, the browned onions, and some sliced fresh mozzarella. I also like to add some fresh cracked pepper on top of the cheese, it tastes good and looks pretty.

 Then I popped this sucker into the oven and baked for about 15 minutes according to the directions on the pizza dough I used. When it was done, we let it cool for a few minutes and sprinkled it with fresh basil chiffonade (basically, basil strips). Easy as, well, pizza pie.

 Basil Pesto Green Pizza (Serves 8)
1/2 recipe Vegan Basil Pesto
1 Pizza dough
1 onion, cut in half and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 head broccoli
1 ball fresh mozzarella
pepper, to taste
fresh basil leaves

In a medium sized pan, heat olive oil and cook onions until lightly browned. Cool. Cut small pieces of broccoli from head and set aside. Slice fresh mozzarella and cut into halves.

Preheat oven and prepare cookie sheet (or pizza stone). Prepare the pizza dough for topping as per manufacturer's directions. Spread pesto in a thin layer evenly on the prepared pizza dough. Then top with garlic, onions, and small pieces of broccoli. Top with slices of mozzarella and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper.

Bake according to pizza dough directions, being sure to add a few minutes if necessary to ensure crust cooks through at the center. When done, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, stack 6-8 large basil leaves on top of each other and roll them up. Slice through basil roll to create chiffonade cut basil. Sprinkle basil evenly across pizza before serving.

Nutrition Estimates (1 slice)
Calories: 384 Carbs: 32g Fat: 22g Protein: 17g

Nutrition Estimates without Mozzarella (1 slice)
Calories: 224 Carbs: 32g Fat: 10g Protein: 7g

Vegan Basil Pesto Sauce

Summertime has three distinct meanings for me. First, it means that I have a three month break from reading dull textbooks, writing dull papers, and sleeping on average less than 5 hours a night. Second, it means scorching heat, painful sunburns, and distressing humidity. Aside from these extreme exaggerations,  summer means fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs. And this year, I'm growing my own basil plant.

Okay, so my basil plant isn't very big yet, and I can't really cook anything of substance with it. But it is growing!!! And I'll buy huge basil bunches from the grocery store so my little plant can aspire to one day become something. Like pesto.

I still remember the first time I tried pesto. I was hooked instantly. My mom had gone out to dinner for work, but when she got home, she woke me up and told me to try some of the pasta she had brought home. It was like nothing I'd ever tasted: peppery and garlicky, but so fresh tasting. It was a lot of familiar flavors presented in a new way. It was just a pesto sauce coating tortellini, but it was delicious.

 And now, I make my own pesto. An even fresher pesto, sans cheese. A lighter pesto too, with less olive oil but still tons of great basil flavor. You could even make this with cilantro or mint, if you prefer. If you're really daring, you could even do a combination of herbs. Basil mint pesto would be an extremely refreshing sauce for a hot summer's day. Also, feel free to play around with the nuts used. I would venture to guess that a mint walnut pesto (without garlic) would make a delicious topping for desserts.

Be strategic when choosing a pasta for your pesto sauce, if that's the route you're taking. I like to choose a pasta that has ample spaces to fill with sauce. Penne, tortellini, and rotini are all great choices in my book. But then again, I have been known to even mix in a spoonful of pesto with a bowl of rice.

Vegan Basil Pesto Sauce (Serves 4)
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt, to taste

Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, and lemon juice in a blender of food processor. Begin to pulse, adding in olive oil to help the mixture come together. Continue to process until the sauce comes together. It should be a smooth paste. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour to let flavors blend.

Nutrition Estimates (one serving):
Calories: 164 Carbs: 3g Fat: 17g Protein: 3g