Recipe of the Day: Easy and Delicious Vegan Pizza

By Shaun Leong, a senior at Saint Mary’s College High School

Over the weekend, I spruced-up my cookbook by adding a new entrée, which, as a vegan, can be somewhat difficult.

I decided to take fresh vegetables, add some soy cheese, and throw it all together on top of whole-wheat dough to create a wonderful tasting vegan pizza.

After it meshed together in the oven, I wanted to share the recipe, so anyone can create this tasty, healthy meal in a relatively short amount of time.

Ingedients

1 small can of pure tomato sauce

1 clove of garlic

1 teaspoon of oregano

Either store bought or homemade whole wheat pizza dough

1 cup of butternut squash

2 cups of kale

1 cup of broccoli

1cup of spinach

½ a package of any soy cheese

Instructions

First, make the sauce for the pizza base using the tomato sauce, garlic, and oregano. Start by chopping and sautéing the garlic in olive oil. After the garlic is lightly browned, pour the tomato sauce into the pan and stir in one teaspoon of oregano. Keep the sauce warm by keeping the heat low. Let the sauce simmer.

Next, boil water to cook the butternut squash. Depending on how you like it, you can either just put it on the pizza raw or slightly cook it to soften it a bit. Once the water comes to a boil, add the butternut squash. Cook at a boil for 3-5 minutes. After 3-5 minutes, steam for about 2 minutes then drain the water and let it cool.

After cooking the butternut squash, it’s time to assemble the pizza. Heat the oven according to the directions on the dough package or the homemade recipe. Sprinkle flour on your countertop and roll out the size of the pizza dough based on the size of the pizza pan. While the sauce is still hot, pour the sauce on the dough and spread evenly.

After spreading the sauce, add a layer of kale and sprinkle soy cheese over the kale. Next, pile on half the butternut squash and top with more soy cheese. Next comes the broccoli and some more soy cheese. Lastly, put on the rest of the butternut squash and top with spinach and a touch more soy cheese.

Place the pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the vegetables are cooked to taste (approximately 10-12 minutes).

The pizza will look really large at first, but keep in mind that when vegetables are cooked they reduce in size. When the pizza is done, let it sit for five minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy this super healthy vegan friendly creation with friends and family!

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Email it to berkeley@patch.com with your name and a picture of the finished dish.