ZUCHINNI CRUST PIZZA

2-3 servings, 50 minutes (30 mins for the dough to sit, 20 minutes to bake)

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 2 cups grated zucchini and yellow squash (roughly about 1 medium zucchini and 1 medium squash)

• 4 tbsp chickpea flour mixed with 4 tbsp water (chickpea egg)

• 1 tsp dried oregano 

• 3 finger pinch asafoetida 

• Salt and pepper to taste 

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup sprouted spelt flour or gluten free flour mix

Optional Sauces

• Kale pesto 

• Fennel bulb pesto

• Kale chimichurri sauce

Optional Toppings

• Chopped leafy greens (kale or spinach are nice choices)

• Fresh arugula

• Fresh basil 

• Any seasonal veggie (artichokes, asparagus, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, shaved fennel, extra zucchini or squash)

• Olives 

• Fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta, or burrata cheese (cheese is optional, omit if kapha or dairy free)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Grate the zucchini and squash using a cheese grater. Mix with a 3 finger pinch of salt and place in a strainer. 

3. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes to draw out the moisture of the veggies. Place the strainer over a bowl to catch the water as it sits. 

4. While that is sitting, make the sauce of your choice - all the pesto sauce options are good and very easy to make, but if you don't feel like making a sauce, you can just use a drizzle of olive oil instead of a sauce in step 8.

5. After 30 minutes, use your hands to squeeze out any remaining water in the zucchini & squash.

6. Whisk the chickpea flour with the water in a medium mixing bowl. Add the oregano, asafoetida, salt, pepper. Mix in the zucchini and squash. Add the flour until you have a sticky dough, adjusting the amount of dough as needed - Not too dry and not too wet.

7. Spread out dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place on the bottom rack for 10 minutes and then on the top rack for an additional 5 minutes.

8. Top with sauce and Toppings of choice and allow to bake for another 3-5 mins.

9. Allow to cool before cutting. Enjoy! 

#kidfriendly #vata #pitta #kapha #spring #summer #italian

Notes

• Vata pizza - You can load up on the sauce - pesto, white sauce, even a tomato based sauce if you are good with nightshades. Any cheese would be good as long as it is good quality - you would do okay with a sour or salty cheese like goat or feta. Olives or capers would be great along with fresh basil and any seasonal veggie that is not a cruciferous veggie would do great.

• Pitta pizza - Use any pesto sauce as opposed to a tomato-based sauce. Load up on the greens, veggies, and maybe a small sprinkling of cheese as long as it is not a super fatty, salty, or sour cheese. Good quality fresh mozzarella, paneer, ricotta, or buratta would be good (basically anything but goat cheese, feta, or blue cheese).

• Kapha pizza - Load up on the veggies, greens, and any fresh herbs you have laying around the house - basil, parsley, mint, dill. Sure, maybe a dollop of cheese here and there would be okay just for taste (you want to go easy on the cheese if you are kapha) - go for a lighter cheese like ricotta. The sauce can be one of the pesto sauces from above (just not super oily) or just a simple drizzle of olive oil.

• Feeling lazy and don't want to make a sauce? - that's okay, we all feel like that from time to time. Just drizzle some olive oil over the pizza crust for the "sauce."