"Je Suis une Pizza..."

"...avec du fromage!  Beaucoup de sauce!  Des tomates!" 

Did anyone take french immersion growing up?  Well I did, and we sang that song all the time.  Random, but I thought of it because I made my very own gluten free pesto pizza tonight.  I also made (for the first time) my very own pesto sauce base using fresh basil. 

Want to make one too?  Here's how!

What you'll need:

For crust

• 1 bag of Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix (comes with yeast packet)
• 1 cup almond milk or water
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 3 tablespoons of oil (coconut, olive, avocado...)
• 2 tsp sea salt

For pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed down)
• 3/4 cup oil (avocado or olive)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• salt and pepper to taste
• Blender or food processor

Toppings

• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• Oil for sauteing
• Splash of balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used the sharp cheddar that was left over in my fridge...)

Step 1 - Crust



Heat 1/2 cup of almond milk in a small sauce pan over low heat until it is just warm to the touch (not scalding!).  Pour into a bowl, add honey and yeast.  Let the yeast mix get a little frothy.



While your yeast is rising, dump entire contents of Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt in with the flour and mix lightly.



Add the yeast and the rest of the almond milk to your flour and salt.  Knead that dough until your elbows and fingers hurt (about 7 minutes)!





Place your dough in a warm place, cover for 1/2 hour and allow it to rise. (Makes one large pizza or two small pizzas)

Step 2 - Pesto


Gather your basil leaves until you have 2 cups of squished-down leaves.  Rinse and toss basil, press your garlic and toss everything into a blender or food processor.  Add your pine nuts and all the oil.  Blend until smooth. (Makes about 1 cup)



Now check on your pizza dough.  It might be a little firm (mine was) but that's okay!  Roll in out into a circle or whatever shape you desire.  Coat with pesto sauce.



Step 3 - Toppings


Preheat oven to 400 F.  Rinse and slice your mushrooms and chop your spinach. 



Sautee your mushrooms in a little coconut oil and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Once mushrooms are cooked add the spinach and sautee for 2 more minutes, until spinach is cooked.



Arrange toppings, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and edges of crust are golden.



Voila!  Gluten-free pesto pizza.  Bon appetit!