Sunday, February 5, 2012

Day 29: Healthy Game Day Pizza

Amidst the screams and shouts of joy or frustration coming from the downstairs neighbors' apartment, I was cooking up my own Superbowl treat without the traditional greasy pizza and beer, as this is a gluten-free household (mostly)! However, despite only caring about the commercials, which I will be watching online later, (especially the rumored remake of Ferris Bueler's Day Off for either a Honda or Kia commercial), I spent my evening in the kitchen. Researching ways to make an edible, low-carb and gluten-free pizza dough, I came upon a flatbread recipe made from garbanzo bean flour that's actually popular in many different cultures around the globe. In Argentina, they refer to it as fainá, which they sometimes top regular pizza, calling it, pizza a caballo, or 'horse-back pizza.' The French refer to it as socca and it's commonly found in the Southeastern regions with an Italian influence. Finally, the Italians have their own version, calling it farinata. I of course added my own alterations and spices to give you the recipe below, which I topped half of with my own toppings and the other half with my sister's toppings:

Gluten-free Mixed Veggie Pizza
Makes 1 large rectangular pizza cut into 8 pieces

Dough:
2 1/2 c. garbanzo bean flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand--they also have a blend of garbanzo bean flour and fava bean flour that I want to try next time)
1 1/4 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 1/4 c. water
1/8 c. EVOO (olive oil)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 packet of stevia or Splenda
6 shakes of fresh black peppercorn
1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 c. EVOO

Hannah's Toppings (low-acidic & lactose free):
1/2 c. mini heirloom yellow tomatoes chopped (as mentioned before, yellow tomatoes have less acidity than red tomatoes, so they're gentler on the stomach)
2 brussel sprouts, leaves separated
1/4 c. organic broccoli slaw (Trader Joe's brand)
4 Spanish olives chopped
1/4 red pepper thinly sliced
1 c. Cabot's cheddar cheese shredded (as said before, Cabot's cheeses contain no milk-fat, so they're lactose-free)
dash red pepper flakes
2-3 dashes Parmesan cheese

My Toppings:
1/8 c. tomato-basil sauce (I used Trader Joe's brand but my mother swears by Don Pepino tomato sauce)
1 c. shredded low-fat Mozzarella cheese (I just pulled apart 2 sticks of string-cheese)
1/4 red pepper thinly sliced
3 brussel sprouts, leaves separated
4 Spanish olives chopped
dash red pepper flakes
few dashes of Parmesan cheese

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2) Combine all the pizza dough ingredients, stirring with a large wooden spoon until creamy.
3) Let stand for about 20-30 minutes while you prepare the toppings
4) Use remaining 1/8th c. EVOO to grease a medium-large rectangular baking pan (mine was about 13x18x1).
5) If dough is too thick to pour, add some more unsweetened almond milk (I think I added an extra 1/2 cup), and pour it into the pan, evening it out with a rubber spatula.
6) Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes, until it is slightly browned and crispy on top.
7) Remove from oven and place your toppings on top of the dough (I did a "halfsies" so half was for my sister and half was for me). 
8) Return pan to the oven and bake the pizza for an additional 10-15 minutes.
9) Remove from oven and carefully slice into square pieces. 
10) With a metal spatula, place a slice onto a plate. (*Note: if the slice is hard to pick up or seems to "doughy" and not crispy enough, bake the pizza in the oven for another 10-20 minutes.) Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator for later!

Enjoy and Bon Appetit! Hope your chosen team won this year's Superbowl--me, I'm pretty indifferent when it comes to football, and my brother lives in Boston, so I could care less who won--the Pats or the Giants. 

The left piece is mine and the right piece is Hannah's.

 









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