Crispy Mushroom Pizza

So this was I think the most classically vegan meal I've made thus far. I think. But who am I to know? I've only been vegan for 3 weeks. Basically, I sauteed mushrooms, onion and garlic until nice and soft and browned and set aside. The "cheese" is actually the tofu cream recipe from The Kind Life: firm tofu, steamed, then blended with umeboshi plum paste, lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of veganaise. Then I lightly broiled a whole wheat tortilla, topped with the cream and then the mushroom mixture and boiled until the toppings were warmed and just beginning to dry out a bit. Topped with some parsley and served.

This was also really really good. The tofu cream imparts just that bit of acidity and creaminess that pizza needs, but it's more like sour cream than cheese. And it contrasted nicely with the crispness of the tortilla. And mushrooms and onions are always delicious. When I made a second pizza with the leftovers the next day, I put some sauteed bok choy greens under the mushroom mixture and that was even more delicious. Also, it's crucial to poke holes in the tortilla before broiling to prevent it swelling like a balloon, which I repeatedly forgot. I also used the tofu cream in a burrito a few days later, along with homemade refried black beans, sauteed kale and fresh salsa...which was possibly the best burrito I've ever had. Ever. And I ate it 4 hours after making it, for lunch. And I used the tofu cream in a dish tonight that I will post shortly. Basically, the tofu cream and the basic method for making tortilla pizza were the takeaway lessons here. Although the basic recipe is good, there are a million things you can do differently to customize it to your own tastes. Yum. Being vegan is fun...and very educational.

Calzones!

So this was my first encounter with meatless ground, aka textured vegetable protein (TVP), aka fake ground beef. It was pretty tasty. And it really does have a texture just like meat, it's just virtually greaseless, so you have to add your own oil. For these calzones (there were 3), I made the same basic pizza dough, but with only 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups unbleached AP flour. And I made it in the food processor to minimize the amount of flour I usually get on everything in my kitchen. I sauteed garlic and onion, added the TVP and browned it with some red pepper flakes and black pepper. The kale was sauteed separately in some olive oil and garlic. I meant to throw some mushrooms in there, but I forgot, so the second two calzones, I topped with sauteed mushrooms. Shrug. I put a piece of vegan cheeze on the bottom of each calzone before topping with kale and "meat."

This was actually quite tasty. The dough was much better and I always like dipping. The kale mixed well with the spicy TVP and the cheeze added just a bit of creaminess. However, next time I don't think the cheeze was really necessary. For me, vegan cheeze has not had much success. It just doesn't taste the same, and I'm really starting to just not miss cheese. I am still intending to try a few vegan tweaks of classics like mac and cheese. But for the most part, I think I'm slowly getting over my addiction to cheese. I also want to try a calzone that doesn't rely on a "fake" product. Maybe just lots of vegetables, like kale, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and maybe some chickpeas or hummus for protein. It's a thought. I've got so many recipes I want to try now....

BBQ Seitan Pizza with Leeks and Cilantro

So, this was pizza attempt number two. The crust is the same, as the recipe made two crusts worth. However, this time there was no problem with sticking thanks to some tin foil and a generous dusting with corn meal (another Chicago pizza trick). I made the barbecue sauce by tweaking an Emeril recipe. It consisted of a can of tomato puree, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, onion, cayenne and dry mustard. The seitan was just quickly sauteed in a skillet, then tossed with sauce. The sauce was also spread over the crust, then topped with a few slices of soy cheeze, the seitan, and a whole sliced, washed raw leek. Once it came out of the oven, I topped it with chopped fresh cilantro.

The verdict? The sauce was delicious when it was fresh, but upon baking it on the pizza, it became decidedly too vinegar-y. And it was not saucy enough for my taste, so maybe it could have been mixed some with a tomato sauce or some kind of vinaigrette? Also, there were way too many slices of leek on the pizza, and they were too thickly sliced. It was a bit overwhelming. However, this time the cheese melted beautifully and imparted some of that creamy texture that was missing in my first pizza.

Next time, I would definitely alter the sauce choice...I wonder if there is some kind of vegan white sauce. I mean, I guess it would be as simple as using Earth Balance butter and regular flour with unflavored soy milk and some seasoning. Hmm. I'll have to do some more research. Also, I think a very quick saute of the leeks would have made all the difference...one or two minutes at the most. And again, the crust was super-dense, but decidedly more crunchy this time which was delicious.

I think this was a good idea, it just suffered from some execution issues. I'll definitely be trying this a few more times in various forms.

Traditional Pizza, with Seitan

So, for my first vegan dinner, I wanted to stick relatively close to what I'm used to. My favorite pizza toppings have traditionally been: sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and extra sauce. So this vegan version is sauteed seitan (wheat gluten protein, pronounced say-tan), with mushrooms, kale, and an organic tomato sauce I found in Return to Eden. The crust is pretty basic, with whole wheat flour, olive oil, and yeast (woken up in some warm water). The cheese is rice cheese, I think by Rice Dream.

As for the actual execution, the seitan was delicious. And the crust was okay, but it stuck very badly to the pan despite a generous coating with oil, and it was really too dense with all whole wheat flour (I was out of AP flour). The cheese was the bigger problem though, because it doesn't really have any fat in it, it melts pretty pitifully and mostly just browned and became kind of crunchy. I also might not have sauteed the kale at all before adding it to the pizza; the mushrooms were raw when I threw them on, and they were perfect.

So, in the future, I'd stick to at least 50% all purpose, unbleached flour, and raw vegetables. Perhaps if using a heartier root veggie, it could be sliced very thin or par-roasted. Also, I'm going to try some other kind of cheese, and probably put it under the sauce they way they construct Chicago pizza. That should keep it moist and maybe a bit more melt-y.

Overall, however, this was not bad at all, and for all the problems I encountered, I didn't miss the meat at all, just the texture of the cheese. :)