Recipe: Spinach-Red Pepper Pizza

Spinach-Red Pepper Pizza
rec.food.veg/Mary Howard

1 large pizza, serves 4
25 minutes preparation, 25 minutes baking

1 package quick-rising dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup

2 cups wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (16 ounce) can pureed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar
3 green onions, stems and leaves removed, then chopped fine
1 clove minced garlic
freshly ground black pepper to taste

about 10 ounces fresh spinach leaves, stems removed and soaked in water to remove any dirt, then chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried basil

olive oil to grease pizza plate, cornmeal to dust pizza plate

4 ounces low fat soy cheese, sliced paper thin into small strips (optional)

Mix the yeast, warm water, and brown rice syrup. Set aside until it bubbles.

In a bowl, put 1 cup of the flour and the salt. Then add the yeast and water mixture. Mix well. Add enough additional flour until the mixture is not sticky. Then turn onto a bread board and knead about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary. Return to the bowl. Cover and put in a warm place to rise about 20 minutes.

In a saucepan on the stove, put the tomato puree, tomato paste, salt, sugar, onion, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer about 20 minutes.

Clean the spinach and red pepper while waiting. Slice the soycheese into paper thin slices, about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide.
Preheat the oven to 400.

After 20 minutes, grease a large pizza pan with olive oil and spread cornmeal on top of the olive oil. Take the pizza dough out of the bowl. Flatten it, then put it on the pizza pan and push the dough out to the edges.

Spoon the tomato sauce over the pizza dough. Leave about 2 tablespoons of sauce in the saucepan.

Add the spinach, red pepper, and basil to the saucepan. Heat and saute, stirring, until the spinach is wilted and the red pepper softens. Spoon the spinach mixture over the pizza dough.

Garnish the pizza with the soycheese, making sure each piece will get a few slices(do not attempt to cover entire pizza, as each ounce is about 5 grams of fat).

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Slice with a bread knife into 8 slices, then serve.