Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Tomato-Lentil Tortilla Pizzas

What's on the menu? Pizza of course! How many variations can I make... countless!


This time, I used a whole-wheat flour tortilla as a pizza shell. I've detailed this technique in both TEV and Vive. Basically, you pre-bake a flour tortilla until crispy and lightly golden. Then, you can top with whatever you like. Because the crust is very thin, it lends itself well to heartier 'sauces' and spreads, like hummus and bean dips. Also, because it is thin, using ingredients that don't release too much moisture is best - otherwise the crust, especially through the middle, can get soft and mushy.

I had leftover Tomato-Lentil Pasta Sauce (recipe from Vive). This is a hearty sauce, but since it needed thickening for this pizza, I simmered it to reduce it down and remove most of the moisture. It was thick enough that the crusts kept their delightful crispiness.

I served a large fresh salad with the pizza, so I kept the toppings to a minimum. Added a scattering of grated Vegan Rella and also some of this soy feta. I think I've mentioned this feta before (?). While it doesn't exactly mimic dairy feta, with a noticeable tofu texture, it does offer a salty/sour/piquant taste that is enjoyable to use in small amounts on certain dishes - like this one. Then, a few sliced olives, and after baking, I added the fresh basil leaves.

Easy, delicious, satisfying.

If making tortilla pizzas yourself, note that most brands have hydrogenated oils, check ingredients to find one without those nasty fats!

11 comments:

aimee said...

Oh, I love that tomato-lentil sauce. That was one of the first (non cookie!) dishes I made from Vive (2nd after the chickpea ratatouille)! So tasty even by itself (like stew). I have not, however, tried it on a pizza. Another tasty notion! Thanks, Dreena!
Aimee

Michelle.S said...

That reminds me that I haven't made that sauce in a long time. It was a regular for a while! Yum.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

oOo, I'm loving this version of a pizza, with the tomato-lentil sauce and the use of a tortilla as the crust (great idea, since I love super-thin crust pizzas!); and I like the use of the Vegan Rella "cheese" as well :0)

crankymommy said...

Dear Dreena, You make me hungry. Sincerely, The Hot Librarian.

Anonymous said...

YUMMY! I love the idea with the lentils too! Thanks for this!
HARMONIA

Isil Simsek said...

hmmm. We have been eating lots of pizza lately because of your yummy pizzas ;) We just cant get enough of hummus tortilla pizzas (I use normal pizza base instead, tortilla isn't satisfying enough for a breastfeeding mommy!). This is a favourite in our house now, also our nonvegan guests like it very much.We tried the another one, you shared here,with roasted peppers sauce and chickpeas. Lately I have been thinking about trying the pesto pizza you wrote about a while ago. Thanks for the wonderful ideas.

Peace, Love and Veganism said...

Have you ever made your own feta with tofu? I have seen several recipes for it (one from Sarah Kramer) and was planning on trying it this weekend or soon anyhow. Grilled pizzas are the best! Do tortilla pizzas stand up to the heat of the grill??

Dreena said...

Hiya everyone! Thanks for your comments and ideas...

Aimee, if you try the sauce on pizza, just be sure to reduce it down, and if there's still a little liquid left, just scoop to the side of the pot to drain away any excess juices before spooning on to your pizza shells (well, if using the tortillas this is important)... and you're welcome!

Dear hot librarian, you make me laugh! And I think you have just the best blogging name I have seen! Sincerely, Dreena. :)

Peace, love, I haven't made my own tofu feta, though I'm sure if you did it would probably be much, much better than this or another commercial brand. yes, I think Sarah has one, and I'm fairly certain that Bryanna Clark Grogan posted one on her blog a few months back as well - and that looked pretty great. If you make it, let us know about it!

Dreena said...

Oh, forgot to mention Peace, love... we don't have an outdoor grill (bit of a story behing that one!). I would supsect that you could only leave it on the grill for a minute or two, long enough to just heat the topings a touch - otherwise I think it's so thin it would scorch.

*s* said...

Hi Dreena! I just received your book The Everyday Vegan in the mail after going vegan only 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I had to tell you how impressed I am with it. I have been craving something sweet, and immediately tried Marie's "More-ish" Brownies, and they were sooo awesome! Thanks so much for a great cookbook for a beginner, and also thanks for excluding margarine and hydrogenated oils from your recipes. =D Looking foward to buying your other books ASAP.
Sheena

laura k said...

I love that tomato-lentil sauce. And let me say, I've used it on pizza before... excellent!