The most surprising pizza so far


Pizza, pizza pizza... a delight I have written about before. This time is different though. I managed to make a pizza that actually tasted like pizza. Imagine that! You may think that pizza-tasting pizza is nothing to write home about, but it is. Why? Because it wasn't made with a bread base, yet it tasted like bread. Yes, really. If I hadn't known (but I did, because I'm the one who made it) and someone told me that the base was made from lentils, I would have been doubted their ability to tell the truth. 

On purpose I kept the toppings simple, because I wanted to taste the base and I did. Bite after bite were chewed and scrutinised in regards to flavour and texture. Think thin crust pizza. While eating I kept thinking 'lentils lentils lentils', but my brain was telling me 'bread bread bread'. 

This last year I have made a lot of pizza, mainly with a vegetable base of some sort, playing with a variety or combinations. Parsnip and celeriac is my favourite combo. Not too long ago I found a quinoa recipe, but although it resembled bread, the smell was hard to cope with. While cooking, the odour of a not too offensive skunk escaped the oven and I wasn't looking forward to my dinner. Luckily it didn't taste like skunk, but there was a funny sort of flavour that I couldn't put my finger on.

Unfortunately my other half preferred the taste and texture of the quinoa to the vegetable base and because I'm a sucker for cooking food that other people like, I decided to try again and this time work hard on eliminating the foul odour. Now I don't have to do that, because my new idea turned out to be brilliant. 

Last year I discovered a way to make red lentils edible. Pulses are evil inhabitants of this world and I despise them with a passion. However, lentils cooked in an alternative fashion can be allowed into my diet. With alternative fashion I mean soaked for hours, blitzed and then fried. I found that out when stumbling over a tortilla wrap recipe and I was pleasantly surprised when dinner was served.

Using that knowledge and combining it with the quinoa pizza recipe, I hit the jackpot. To make this pizza base is super simply, but you have to allow time. The lentils need to soak for hours. The wrap recipe said at least 3 hours. I soaked them for over 6 hours this time and I'm sure they could be done even longer if you for some reason wanted that. I put my batch into a soak when clearing up after breakfast and blitzed them when I was ready to start cooking dinner in the evening.

For one oven tray pizza you need:
1 cup red lentils
1 tsp baking powder
a little water, really not a lot
salt & pepper
toppings of your choice

Don't be shy with the salt. I could have used a bit more.


1. Soak the lentils in water for at least 3 hours.


2. Once soaked, drain and add a little fresh water, baking powder, salt and pepper.

You can barely see the water that I added. Don't overdo it. It is better to add more later, if needed.


3. Blitz with a stick blender until the mixture resembles a thick pancake batter. A few whole lentils won't make a difference, so don't worry too much.


4. Pour the batter onto an oven tray covered with greaseproof paper. Spread it out with a spoon to make sure it cooks evenly.

I seem to remember (too late of course) that I brushed it with oil when making the quinoa pizza. I didn't this time and although it was slightly harder to get the paper off, it worked, so no oil needed.


5. Bake for 10 minutes in the lower part of the oven at 200 degrees. Take it out and make sure that it feels dry and solid. Flip it over onto a new piece of greaseproof paper.


6. Very gently pull the paper off. It may stick a bit, but it will come off. Take your time. Bake the other side for another 10 minutes.


7. The base is now ready to use. It should feel completely dry and solid.

I flipped mine over again and managed to crack the top a bit, but that was nothing a bit of cheese couldn't mend. 


8. Add the toppings of your choice. 

I wanted to keep mine simple, so I opted for a tomato sauce made from tomato puree, ketchup, paprika, oregano and basil.


Ham of course. No pizza is complete without ham.


And cheese. This is a cheddar and mozzarella blend.


9. Bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese has melted.


10. Slice it and eat it.

As you can see, looks can be deceiving. Nobody would guess that this isn't bread. 

Comments

  1. Unknown19 April 2019 at 02:50

    It really does look lush Mia!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mia's Makings24 April 2019 at 01:50

      I heard from someone following the instructions and although she was apprehensive about the non-exact measurements, it worked out really well and she deemed it a winner. If you try, I hope you like it too.

      Delete

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