Sera
08-20-2008, 02:49 PM
I thought I had to give up pizza for good because of the tomato sauce and greasiness which really upset my stomach and caused my bladder to feel even worse, until I got the courage to experiment with a garlic/basil paste. You'll have to like/be able to eat garlic to enjoy this recipe, though the amount you add is entirely up to you. Here's the recipe I made and it turns out fabulous in my opinion!
Crust:
Fresh dough or pre-made pizza crust (I tried Boboli and that seems to work for me, but if you're concerned about preservatives you may want to try a home-made dough--perhaps some others here can help with a good recipe for that!)
Paste (this is what you'll put on instead of tomato sauce):
1/2 clove of garlic, very finely chopped (I really like garlic so I use a lot!)
10-12 medium to large basil leaves, shredded/chopped (I grow them fresh)
2tsp olive oil
Italian seasoning (marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil), salt and pepper, to taste (if any of these seasonings is problematic for you, you can omit them entirely!)
Vegetable Toppings:
5 small white mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 can (forgot the oz) black olives, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
Italian seasoning (marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil), salt and pepper, to taste (if any of these seasonings is problematic for you, you can omit them entirely!)
optional: extra chopped garlic to taste
Cheese Topping:
8oz mozzarella cheese, grated, firm
optional: sliced mozzarella cheese, soft (laid on top of everything; if you do this you can reduce the amount of firm, grated mozzarella)
In a small skillet, sauté the paste until the garlic is golden. This will lessen the strength of the garlic flavor. Taste the paste to ensure it is not too strong. I found out the hard way the first time I made this that you pretty much have to pre-cook the paste; 12-14 minutes in the oven is not long enough to tame the garlic!
In a medium to large skillet, sauté the vegetable toppings in a little bit of olive oil until they are mostly cooked. If you want to add extra sliced garlic you can sauté it in with the veggies. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste (see the above note about omitting these if they are problematic).
Spread paste on the crust/dough, sprinkle with grated mozzarella (use about 2/3 of what you have grated), add cooked toppings, and sprinkle with remaining grated mozzarella (1/3 remaining). Add slices of soft mozzarella on top if you wish to do so.
You can also add meat--pre-cooked, sliced chicken would probably be very tasty--I just haven't done so yet as my pizzas are almost overflowing with veggies!
Bake according to the directions on the crust package. I believe it was about 12-14 minutes, but you can always check it every couple minutes to see how it's doing.
Remove from oven, cut, serve, and enjoy!
Hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how it turns out if you try this or a variant of it! =)
Crust:
Fresh dough or pre-made pizza crust (I tried Boboli and that seems to work for me, but if you're concerned about preservatives you may want to try a home-made dough--perhaps some others here can help with a good recipe for that!)
Paste (this is what you'll put on instead of tomato sauce):
1/2 clove of garlic, very finely chopped (I really like garlic so I use a lot!)
10-12 medium to large basil leaves, shredded/chopped (I grow them fresh)
2tsp olive oil
Italian seasoning (marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil), salt and pepper, to taste (if any of these seasonings is problematic for you, you can omit them entirely!)
Vegetable Toppings:
5 small white mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 can (forgot the oz) black olives, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
Italian seasoning (marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil), salt and pepper, to taste (if any of these seasonings is problematic for you, you can omit them entirely!)
optional: extra chopped garlic to taste
Cheese Topping:
8oz mozzarella cheese, grated, firm
optional: sliced mozzarella cheese, soft (laid on top of everything; if you do this you can reduce the amount of firm, grated mozzarella)
In a small skillet, sauté the paste until the garlic is golden. This will lessen the strength of the garlic flavor. Taste the paste to ensure it is not too strong. I found out the hard way the first time I made this that you pretty much have to pre-cook the paste; 12-14 minutes in the oven is not long enough to tame the garlic!
In a medium to large skillet, sauté the vegetable toppings in a little bit of olive oil until they are mostly cooked. If you want to add extra sliced garlic you can sauté it in with the veggies. Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste (see the above note about omitting these if they are problematic).
Spread paste on the crust/dough, sprinkle with grated mozzarella (use about 2/3 of what you have grated), add cooked toppings, and sprinkle with remaining grated mozzarella (1/3 remaining). Add slices of soft mozzarella on top if you wish to do so.
You can also add meat--pre-cooked, sliced chicken would probably be very tasty--I just haven't done so yet as my pizzas are almost overflowing with veggies!
Bake according to the directions on the crust package. I believe it was about 12-14 minutes, but you can always check it every couple minutes to see how it's doing.
Remove from oven, cut, serve, and enjoy!
Hope this helps. Good luck and let me know how it turns out if you try this or a variant of it! =)