2018 Pizza Challenge Part Two

Continuing on with the second half of last year's goal to make pizza once a month!

Meatball Pizza from Vegan Pizza by Julie Hasson: I actually made this twice. The first time was not such a success, because I used the Ikea veggie balls and they are just too sweet and not right for this kind of thing. The second time I made it using the Gardein meatballs, and it worked much better! I only made a half quantity of the sauce both times. The first time I tried to get it all on, which ended up making the base (I used a ready made for this attempt) too smooshy. The second time I used just what I needed, so there was some sauce left over, and it worked out better. That time I used the base recipe from the book. Definitely recommend using a meaty meatball and being careful with the sauce!
Rating: :) (second attempt)





Cheeseburger Pizza from Cook The Pantry by Robin Robertson: I really went for some meaty and cheese pizzas last year. I used the pizza dough recipe from the cookbook (it makes enough for two bases, so I froze half for the next time), and it was a super easy dough to make. This recipe uses a cashew cheese sauce on the base, though it could have been a bit thicker. I was worried it was all going to run right off the base! It is topped with some TVP (which I soaked in beef flavoured stock rather than water for more flavour). I also garnished with ketchup, mustard, and gherkin relish.
Rating: :)



BBQ Chickpea Pizza from Cook The Pantry by Robin Robertson: This is a very easy pizza to make. The base is topped with a mix of chickpeas mashed with BBQ sauce, tamari, and mustard (also chiles, but I subbed that with some diced celery). The topping uses two tins of chickpeas, but really you could halve it as it led to an incredibly thick layer. Although not mentioned in the recipe, I topped it with some FYH mozzarella. I'm glad I did because otherwise it would have been a bit samey. I accidentally overcooked the base a bit (in both this recipe and the above one the base is baked for a bit first), but it worked in my favour given the topping was so heavy and a bit sloppy!
Rating: :)



Muffuletta Pizza from Vegan Pizza by Julie Hasson: Base, tomato garlic sauce, olive salad and garlic salad. The olive salad is a mix of three different olives, capers, giardiniera (I used some home made one from 1000 Vegan Recipes as all the store bought ones had chillies in them), and herbs. I found it to be a bit too salty, but I didn't have the right mix of olives (not enough green) so I think the kalamata overpowered it a bit. I also used water rather than olive oil, but even so I found it a bit oily overall (even with leaving off the extra olive oil it suggests to garnish!). The pizza needed some freshness. I only made a half recipe of the olive salad so I could use it all up on the pizza, the recipe says it makes a lot so you will have some left over if you make the whole batch. I did add a little bit of my beloved Fenn smoked sesame cheese on the base before adding the rest of the ingredients, so that adding a nice creamy counterpart to the saltiness.
Rating: :|



Meat-Free Lover's Barbecue Pizza from Taste For Life by Animals Australia: The recipe as written makes two pizzas (including the dough), I halved it for one. The pizza is topped with a mix of tomato paste and BBQ sauce, then cheese (in a shocking twist, I used the Daiya blend shreds), hot dogs (I used Field Roast Frankfurters), and red onion. It is also meant to have chopped sun dried tomatoes, but I realised I was out when I went to get them from the fridge. Garnished with some chives for colour, you can also garnish with a herbed sour cream that I did not make. This was a good pizza, I love BBQ pizzas, could have had some pineapple. But that's just me.
Rating: :)



BBQ Pineapple Pizza from Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli: Yes, more BBQ pizza! I skipped the dough recipe in the book (I had made it once before and found it to be kind of runny and sticky) in favour of a pre-made pizza base. I can't get the pre-made dough that the US cookbooks all seem to talk about, and finding vegan pizza bases that are actually good can be tricky as well (WHY ALL THE MILK IN THEM?), but I have found a base that I like now. This is topped with BBQ sauce, BBQ sauce roasted tofu, caramelised onions, and pineapple. No cheese. I knew my base was going to be smaller than the one the book would make, so I just made a half recipe of the BBQ sauce, but still piled on on the toppings! It was a nice combination, especially with the caramelised onions.
Rating: :)



And there endeth the challenge. It was a fun challenge, because I love pizza but I don't make it enough. I got to try a few different recipes for pizza dough as well!

So what does 2019 hold in store for my food blogging challenge? I had a number of thoughts. But then I decided my goal was to have no goal at all. My year hasn't gotten off to the greatest start, so the idea of just being able to go with the flow and not be locked into anything specific is very appealing. But of course I'll still be cooking and eating and blogging!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Pizza Cat!