Perfect pizza, pronto - includes recipes - Cover Story

Vegetarian Times, June, 1996 by Nancy Ross Ryan

Four-vegetable,

Two-way Pizza

The trick to being quick is to chop vegetables roughly and scrape them directly from cutting board into skillet. Needless to say, vegetables must be prime quality, especially mushrooms, because even the stems are used.

1 recipe Fast Pizza Dough, mixed

and kneaded 1 large onion 1 green bell pepper 1 red bell pepper 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

in garlic press 1 lb. white or brown mushrooms 8-oz. can prepared low-fat pizza

sauce 8-oz. bag grated low-moisture, partskim

mozzarella (2 cups) or 8

oz. grated mozzarella-style soy

cheese (see glossary, p.118)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. While dough is rising, peel and dice onion; toss into lightly oiled 12-inch nonstick skillet. Saute over medium-high heat about 5 minutes, tossing 1 or 2 times.

While onion is cooking, slice top and bottom off peppers. Lift out stem, core and seed with fingers; discard. Chop peppers into 1-inch dice. Add peppers to skillet with onions. Stir and cook about 5 minutes, then add garlic and stir again.

While onion-pepper mixture cooks, put mushrooms in colander. Toss under rapidly running water to clean. Turn out on paper toweling; quickly pat to dry. Chop mushrooms roughly (stems included), into 1/2-inch dice. Add to skillet. Saute uncovered over high heat until mushrooms are cooked and any pan liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; cool.

After dough has risen 15 minutes, turn out on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14-inch circle, dusting top lightly with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Brush excess flour from dough; fold pizza in half, then in half again. Place folded dough on lightly oiled 14-inch pizza pan. Unfold dough, easing to fit. Create thin rim by pressing dough down with thumb 1/4 inch from edge.

Spread dough with pizza sauce. Distribute reserved vegetables evenly. Bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven, add cheese and return to oven. Bake until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown and baked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from oven. Transfer to pizza peel or board. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting with pizza cutter or sharp serrated knife into wedges. Makes 8 large wedges.

Variation: Instead of cheese, drizzle 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons virgin olive oil over cooked vegetables in skillet. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Toss to mix. Top pizza and bake 20 minutes. PER WEDGE: 278 CAL.; 15SG PROT.; 6G TOTAL FAT (3G SAT. FAT); 42G CARB.; 15MG CHOL.; 604MG SOD.; 4G FIBER. LACTO/VEGAN

Low-Fat Pesto

This recipe is adapted from the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook (MacMillan, 1995). Prepare it while the pizza dough is rising. Store unused portion covered, refrigerated, for up to 1 week, or freeze up to 1 month.

2 cups chopped fresh basil leaves 1 cup chopped fresh italian parsley 1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan or Parmesan-style

soy cheese see glossary, p.118) 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 Tbs. white miso (see glossary, p.118) 1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Put all ingredients except water in blender or food processor; pulse until minced. With machine running, add water to desired consistency. Makes about 1 cup.