Recipe: Plant-Based Pizza, Pesto Pasta & Quinoa Salad
We're cooking up a plant-powered pizza, along with home-made pesto for pasta and a 'superfood' quinoa salad. These recipes are from Keith Sedita, co-owner of plant-based restaurant Florish. Dough as used in the pizza recipe below is also available from the restaurant.
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‘Jersey Girl’ Pizza
Ingredients
- 7 oz pizza dough (fresh or store-bought)
- 2 oz pizza sauce of choice
- 9–12 mushrooms, sliced
- mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz vegan sausage crumbles
- 1 x green bell pepper, diced
- pizza seasoning (or substitute dried oregano and crushed red pepper, to taste)
- parmesan (plant-based or any grated cheese you’d like)
Directions
Preheat oven to 475 °F.
Lightly coat dough ball with flour or cornmeal. Stretch dough by hand or use rolling pin to reach desired size and thickness.
Place stretched dough on sheet pan or pizza pan.
Ladle sauce onto dough and spread evenly across entire pizza. Leave ½" border for crust.
Evenly distribute sliced mushroom across pizza, add mozzarella cheese and top with sausage crumbles and green bell pepper.
Place pizza in pre-heated oven and start checking in after 5 minutes until desired doneness. Pizza crust should be golden brown.
Carefully remove pizza from oven, place on a cutting board, and slice.
Sprinkle end to end with spice blend and parmesan cheese.
Creamy Ricotta Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb farfalle pasta
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 oz fresh basil, stems removed
- 2 oz pepitas
- 3 x garlic cloves, peeled
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 oz nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Calabrian peppers, chopped
Directions
Over high heat, cook pasta in salted water in large pot until ‘al dente’. Water should be as salty as sea water.
Drain pasta, reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid to thin pesto as needed. In large bowl, toss drained pasta with butter.
To make pesto, place basil, pepitas, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt in food processor and pulse until loose paste forms.
With food processor running, slowly add oil until incorporated. Then slowly add ½ cup water until incorporated and run for 10 minutes.
Toss hot, buttered pasta with ricotta and add pesto, adding reserved pasta cooking water as necessary to make a sauce that clings to pasta. Add salt as needed to taste.
Portion into bowls and top with parmesan cheese and chopped peppers.
Quinoa, Chickpea & Toasted Walnut Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt & pepper blend
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 3 cups extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 cups arugula or other leafy greens
- 1 x garlic clove, minced
- ½ can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup green onions, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 x avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
Directions
Cook quinoa in saucepan with 2 cups water, bring to boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
In mixing bowl, combine vinegar and mustard, then add garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper and turmeric.
Slowly drizzle in oil while continuously mixing with wire whisk for 2 minutes.
Toast the walnuts in a skillet for 5–7 minutes and set aside.
In large bowl, add arugula or greens, then add garlic and cooked, warm quinoa. Toss until incorporated. Arugula will wilt slightly.
Add chickpeas, toasted walnuts, green onions, salt and pepper, toss again.
Fan sliced avocado on top and pour dressing on top. Finish with fresh basil and add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
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