Entry 28: Personal Favorite - The Vegan Antivan, a Specialty Pizza

Image Description: Homemade, freshly pan baked and sliced vegan pizza on an old-fashioned pizza board.

The Antivan kick continues here in Skyhold's kitchen. This recipe I am proud to say is thoroughly delicious, fantastically filling, and relatively easy to make. I have adapted a basic homemade pizza recipe into a satisfying specialty pizza that sings of Antivan flavors. I present to you, dear reader, the finest specialty pizza Skyhold has to offer: The Vegan Antivan. A spicy, bold, filling pizza pie you'll want to dual for, Antivan style.

I recently watched an older video from Mic the Vegan where he charmingly bumbled through an easy, oil-free pizza recipe and I instantly thought of how I could kick it up to a specialty level with some bold flavors and easy techniques without upping the oil or fat. Homemade pizza is cheap and easy. Specialty homemade pizza with spicy, rich flavors is almost as easy and just as cheap. It's like enjoying the splendors of Antiva without getting your coin purse nicked.

The recipe is a time commitment but pizza is worth it, right? I added some extra depth of flavor by roasting my own garlic and using jalapenos for toppings. I have been meaning to make more homemade vegan cheeses and this was an excellent opportunity to try a thick, rich cheese sauce.

I hope you throw out your dinner plans and get in with both hands to give this superb pie a try! Because there is little more satisfying in this world and all of Thedas than a lush, savory, spicy specialty pizza!

To start, I always arrange my ingredients on the counter (saves me running around the kitchen looking for ingredients): wheat flour, room temperature water, cashews, more water, a yellow bell pepper, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, even more water, dried basil, dried oregano, red pepper chili flakes, ground marjoram, salt, sesame or olive oil, and clean meat or meat substitute. No, animal flesh does not work for this recipe. High oil and fat content can drown out the intensity of the flavors and do not hold this pie together well. I highly recommend using clean meat, such as Beyond Meat Beef Crumbles or Morning Star Farms Crumbles. For toppings, I suggest mushrooms, jalapenos, and freshly roasted garlic. For the full recipe, see below.

Image description: A gathering of pizza ingredients.

There are a lot of steps to this dance of deliciousness. It could honestly compete with Orlais' tourdion* in quickness and timing of steps, but no one step is more complicated than the next.

I started by roasting the garlic....

Image Description: A horizontally cut garlic clove, seasoned for roasting. 

And then boiled the cashews to soften them...

Image Description: A 3-part image collage - boiling cashews (LR), strained cashews (LL), softened cashews (Top).

And from there proceeded to mix and knead the pizza dough. It's an incredibly basic recipe and yet thoroughly delicious. It's bareness compliments this flavorful pizza well.

Image Description: A 3-part image collage - water and whole wheat flour (LR), kneading of water and whole wheat
flour by hand, pizza dough ball (Top).

Next, I cooked up half of a bag of Morning Star Farms Griller Crumbles.

Image Description: A 2-part image collage - bag of Morning Star Farms Griller Crumbles (Top),
crumbles cooking in a lidded pan (Lower).

I used a splash of jarred jalapeno juice to season it up and to scrap the crispy bits up from the pan. This adds a smokey, spicy flavor. While the the crumble cooked, I whisked the tomato sauce together.

Image Description: A 2-part image collage - can of tomato paste (L), pizza seasonings and sesame oil (R).

Image Description: Water poured over pizza seasonings and tomato paste goodness.

Once the crumble was done, I added it to the sauce.

Image Description: Delicious clean meat pizza sauce.

At this point, I realized I roasted my garlic clove too long.

Image Description: Two charred halves of a garlic clove seasoned with sea salt.

You want a golden brown look to the cloves, where they are just a little crispy on the outside but still mostly soft. Pictured above is a charred mess. Avoid charring.

Image Description: Freshly roasted (and slightly overdone) garlic cloves pressed out of the garlic paper onto aluminum foil.

Dropping one of the halves didn't help my situation, so avoid doing that too. 

Let's pranced to the cheese sauce. Somewhere in the steps I diced the yellow bell pepper and then added them with the cashews to my blender. 

Image Description: Diced yellow pepper on a wood cutting board.

The nutritional yeast can be added to taste. It is not necessary but I think it helps bind and flavor the pepper and cashews with a cheese-like undertone.

Image Description: Close up of water thinly poured over yellow
 pepper, cashews and nutritional yeast in a blender.

After everything was blended, I rolled out the pizza dough....

Image Description: Pizza dough partially rolled out on a large, wood cutting board with a French rolling pin.

And then fit it to a baking pan. 

Image Description: Pizza dough fit to a baking pan with a pastry roller.

Now to build the pizza. I spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving about 3/4 of an inch for the crust. Then traced my finger around the crust with some pizza sauce. This prevents the crust from burning while baking.

Image Description: A 2-part image collage - pizza sauce carefully rubbed onto pizza dough crust (R), pizza sauce
smoothed onto pizza dough (L).

I added the first layer of cheese sauce and spread evenly, then pressed the toppings into the sauce, and added the second layer of cheese sauce. I had a little left over and saved it for a cheesy dip. 

Image Description: A 3-part image collage - first cheese sauce poured over pizza sauce (T), mushrooms and
jalapenos added on top (LL), second layer of cheese sauce spread evenly over pizza.

Then I cleaned up kicked back for 20 minutes while the pizza baked. To finish the pizza off, I set my oven to broil and moved it to the top rack. I let it broil for 4 minutes and it came out just perfect.

Image Description: Homemade, freshly baked vegan pizza.

It's specialty pizza magic anyone can master.

Image Description: Homemade, freshly baked and sliced vegan pizza.

It's a dance of preparation to be sure but the reward is supreme. And best shared with friends over some Antivan wine.


The Vegan Antivan:

Prep time: 45 to 50 minutes
Bake time: 20 to 25 minutes
Total time: 65-75 minutes
Yields: 2-4 servings (8 slices)

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup room temperature water

Tomato Sauce:
3/4 can of tomato paste
1/3-1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 bag of Morning Star Farms Crumbles or Beyond Meat Beef Crumbles
2 teaspoons sesame or olive oil

Cheese Sauce:
1 1/2 cups softened cashews
1/2-3/4 cup water
1 medium-large yellow bell pepper, roughly diced
2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast, to taste

Toppings:
1 garlic bulb, roasted
Diced mushrooms
Diced jalapenos, fresh or jarred (jarred jalapenos recommended)

Directions:

Before assembling ingredients, arrange oven racks. Place one oven rack in the middle of your oven and one at the very top.

Begin by roasting the garlic cloves. Preheat oven to 425℉ or 220℃. Cut the bulb in half horizontally and place halves up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt. Bake the garlic halves in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the garlic cloves are golden brown, remove promptly from oven and set aside.

To begin the cheese sauce, boil water in a medium sauce pan and add cashews. Boil for 12 to 15 minutes. Strain, add to a bowl and cover with a plate, set aside.

To begin the crust, add flour to a mixing bowl and gently add water. Knead by hand into a dough ball. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and set aside.

For the sauce, begin by cooking the Morning Star Farms Crumble or Beyond Meat Beef Crumble according to basic packing instructions. While the crumble is cooking, whisk together tomato paste, basil, oregano, red pepper chili flakes, marjoram, and salt. Slowly pour water to desired thickness and consistency. Add a splash of jalapeno juice from the diced jalapeno jar to de-glaze the pan and stir the spicy flavor into the crumble if desired. If you are using fresh jalapenos, use water. Then remove from heat and add crumble to tomato sauce. Stir well to combine and set aside.

Back to the cheese sauce, add the cashews, diced bell pepper, and nutritional yeast to a blender and blend. Add water while blending to desired thickness and smoothness.

Back to the crust, roll out dough ball on a clean, floured surface with a rolling pin into a rectangle to fit a medium-seized baking sheet. Dust surface and rolling pin with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Cut a piece of parchment paper and place on the baking sheet. Fit pizza dough onto papered baking sheet by hand our with a pastry roller.

Next, press your garlic cloves out of the garlic paper gently onto a plate. They will be oily.

Finally, to assemble the pizza, spoon and spread pizza sauce onto pizza dough, leaving about 1/4-3/4 inch dough uncovered. With your finger, gently spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the exposed pizza dough. This prevents the crust from burning in the oven. Next, pour a thick layer of pizza cheese sauce on top and spread to cover the sauce. Carefully press the toppings into the cheese sauce. Then pour another layer of cheese sauce over the toppings and first layer, and spread evenly.

Bake pizza in the oven at 400℉ or 205℃ for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack. Then turn oven to broil and move the pizza to the top rack. Broil for 3 to 4 minutes, or until crust and cheese sauce are golden brown.

Remove from oven, cut into squares and serve immediately.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, bake in a 350℉ or 175℃ degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until hot.

END NOTE:  Don't forget to turn off your oven. An unattended broiling oven makes for a smokey kitchen. And possibly a house fire.

It has been an up and down month at Skyhold. Early summer started out well but by midsummer, routines and tasks are barely held together by their seams. I'm getting back on track though (even though I feel Like I say that every other month). Between family events, friends visiting, and losing our kitchen cat, there has been a lot of emotional and household logistic management. Everyday I find a little peace somewhere in the midst of the ever flowing chaos of life and give thanks for it. My complaints are not without reflection and understanding. Sometimes that peace that gives everything meaning is found in the sunset over the mountains, other times its found at a Pride parade, and other times its found with a plate of homemade specialty pizza.

In other Dragon Age related news, I am excited to announce I am taking part in organizing this year's Dragon Age Day's events! I can't say much more, other than the day of the main events is December 4 and check out the Unofficial Dragon Age Day twitter handle for periodic updates.

Follow me on Instagram for more food, wildlife pictures, cat pictures, Dragon Age screenshots, and sneak peeks of the next blog entry!


Walk always in the Maker's light.


Like what you are reading? Great! Come back for a new entry on the third Thursday of each month (mostly). And have a look at my previous entries for other recipes and Dragon Age-related trivia and oddities!

Have any friendly suggestions or cool ideas? Want me to veganize your favorite recipe? Please feel free to comment below. You can also email me at foodsofthedas@gmail.com, message me at AGSamuels on Reddit, or tweet me at @FoodsofThedas on Twitter. You can also follow me on Instagram, @foodsofthedas.

If you try out any of my recipes, please share pictures on social media using the hashtag (#)FoodsofThedas.

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Sources:
Mic the Vegan: www.youtube.com/channel/UCGJq0eQZoFSwgcqgxIE9MHw
Mic the Vegan, Simple Vegan Pizza Recipe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cZ5wJ8Y9Q
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*Asunder reference.

Foods of Thedas, formerly Gourmet Vegan Thedas.