Hey beautiful,
How are you? After a last-minute trip to Lombok (pics coming soon!) and a REALLY busy couple of weeks at work, I’m back in the kitchen and have lots of ideas.
When I was at the farmers market this weekend, I was amazed at how cheap zucchini still is! I bought an organic zucchini (the price of which I have no idea! I’m a terrible shopper) but there was a big sign at one of the other stalls with absolutely huge zucchini for $1.20. Crazy, I tell you!
Anyway, we’re not far off completing our new veggie patches and I am looking forward to zucchini planting season. This is one thing I’m dying to grow.
Zucchini is so versatile. You can use it in fritters, you can use it instead of pasta (or just IN your pasta) and you can use it on top of pizza. I adore zucchini on pizza. When I was a vegetarian, I used to top it with feta cheese, and although I don’t miss feta, the salty/nutty taste combined with the freshness of the zucchini is a really good combo. Then, I remembered that the chef who created the cookbook, Vegan Cooking for Carnivores (he is the chef who cooks for Ellen and Portia, I’ve got the book at home) wrote that he creates a feta-like taste using the brine from olives.
And it kinda does.
If you want a simple, 10-minute, can’t-go-wrong recipe, then this is a good one to try.
- 1 tin tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- Dash of red wine vinegar
- Small handful basil
- 1 small-medium sized zucchini
- 1 chilli
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons olive brine (the brine from a jar of olives)
- Wholemeal pitta bread
- Water (to achieve your desired consistency of cashew cream - I used all-up about 4-5 tablespoons)
- Few sprigs of mint
- Olive oil (optional)
- Soak your cashews in water for about half an hour if you have time. It isn't necessary, but it makes them easier to blend. Preheat your oven to about 220 degrees celcius (430 degrees fahrenheit).
- Place your tomatoes, red wine vinegar, crushed or finely chopped garlic and basil in a blender and blend until it is a smooth paste. This is the tomato sauce for your pizza so place on as much as you want.
- Using a peeler, peel ribbons of zucchini and place on the pizza. Place them slightly curled up to give them some texture (i.e. they shouldn't all just lay flat on the pizza). Finely chop the chilli and sprinkle on top. Place in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the zucchini has softened.
- Drain the water from the cashews and place in the blender with the lemon juice and olive brine. Blend for a few seconds, before adding more water, a Tablespoon at a time, until you get the consistency you want. Mine was like a sour cream consistency. Dollop your cashew cream on your pizza and place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cashew cream looks warmed and base has gone crunchy. Tear and sprinkle some mint on top.
- If you want, you can then drizzle a touch of olive oil on the top before serving
P.S. Fancy a copy of my free e-book, Easy Peasy Vegan Dinners?
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