When is pizza more than just pizza? When it is jam-packed with vegetables! In my family, mushroom and spinach is a popular combination (with a healthy dose of garlic). But Happy Dancing Turtle’s campus chef Chris Glassmann takes it to a whole new level.
Chef Chris has a personal cookbook collection that numbers in the hundreds, but many of the favorite meals he prepares for campus are his own creation. Campus meals all feature at least some element grown in campus gardens, and more often than not, several items from the gardens.
Chef Chris re-creates two classic pizza toppings–pepperoni and sausage–based on carrots and cauliflower.
“I’m not into carrots, but this amazing pepperoni totally tricked me,” HDT staffer Krista commented.
Carrot Pepperoni
1. Peel carrots and slice thin. Chris recommends a mandoline--a type of slicer with a flat surface and sharp blade.
2. Place carrot slices in a bowl and add a few dashes of liquid smoke.
3. Grind together dried pepper flakes* and basil. Chris uses an electric coffee grinder. For the amounts, Chris recommends starting with equal parts of each and then adjusting to taste. Add a little salt to these spices.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Chris uses olive oil. When hot, put in carrots and sprinkle on spice to taste.
5. Reserve for topping pizza.
Cauliflower Sausage
1. Break cauliflower florets into small pieces.
2. In a grinder, combine black pepper, sage and salt. Chris recommends starting with equal parts of each, then adjusting to taste.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Chris uses olive oil. When hot, add cauliflower and sprinkle on spice to taste.
4. Reserve for topping pizza.
If you aren’t a pepperoni or sausage fan in the first place, here’s another strategy for “pizza-fying” other vegetables:
Veggie Blend
1. Dice vegetables such as squash, celery, onion, green peppers and cabbage into small pieces.
2. Grind dried parsley, oregano, rosemary and black pepper. Chris recommends starting with equal parts of each, then adjusting to taste.
3. Heat oil (Chris uses olive oil) in a pan and saute until tender.
4. Reserve for topping pizza.
Whatever your choice of toppings, use your favorite pizza dough recipe (or pre-made crust)--Chris recommends a thick one. Add pizza sauce, a thick layer of topping and a good amount of cheese.
*Note About Peppers
These are hot pepper flakes from the campus garden. They are equivalent to red pepper flakes available in grocery stores. The blend pictured here was made, in part, by drying jalapenos, as pictured below:
