Vegan Roasted Sweet Potato Pizza

There was a point in my life at which I made pizza every week on a certain day. It became a tradition and something I looked forward too. I would choose different veggies (or sometimes fruits) and cheeses to experiment with every week so it was quite exciting! Some of the combinations were things like lemon fennel and gruyere cheese with thyme and walnuts or strawberry basil with blue cheese and caramelized onions. I liked some better than others, but they were all good. That tradition has since died out however since I don't make pizza weekly, it is more like every few months. But I still appreciate it, and I like the vegan pizzas I make now just as much (if not better) than the ones I used to make. There is no lack of melty cheese on my vegan pizzas like some people's who either don't like the store bought or refuse to make their own. But making your own is actually pretty easy! I just go for the vegan mozzarella most of the time.

I decided to make a pizza a few days back with some ingredients I had on hand. Mainly featuring sweet potatoes. My Mom has been telling me about this pizza at Trader Joes that she buys a lot for a while and how good it is so it was kind of my inspiration. It has sweet potato puree as the sauce, kale, and actually butternut squash too, but I skipped that and just did the sweet potatoes for the sauce and to top it. I roasted them in the oven to bring out their sweet flavor and they were delicious even before topping the pizza, so I knew this was going to be good!  I also topped the pizza with arugula, jalapenos, and pomegranate seeds, which might sound like an odd combo but it was wonderful!

Once the cheese was all gooey and melty and the pizza was cooked to perfection, I could not wait to try it! The flavorful sweet yams paired perfectly with the spicy jalapeno, tart pomegranate and peppery arugula! This is a festive looking pizza as well as being delicious!  I love experimenting with not so common ingredients on my pizza, it is a great way to find new favorite combinations!  If you have a hankering for pizza over Winter break, give this a try!

Vegan Roasted Sweet Potato Pizza
Makes one 14 inch pizza

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese:

• 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch
• 1/4 plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
• 3 Tbsp agar flakes or 1 Tbsp agar powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1 tsp guar gum

To make the cheese, heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until it comes to a simmer.  Meanwhile, dissolve the arrowroot starch in the water and set aside. Once the coconut milk has come to a simmer, add the agar flakes, and heat until they are dissolved (mine took about 8 minutes, if you are using the powder, it should dissolve within one minute).Next, add the lemon juice and sea salt to the coconut milk.  Mix the coconut oil with the guar gum so that the guar gum does not clump up.  Turn off the heat and add the arrowroot mixture, guar gum and coconut oil. Whisk for about 30 seconds, then pour into a silicone mold (I used a loaf pan, but if you had another shape you would like to use go ahead). Refrigerate for a few hours until firm, then pop out of the mold. You will need half the cheese for this recipe, reserve the other half for another use in the fridge, wrapped in an airtight container.  Shred the half you will be using into a bowl, and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
• olive oil
• sea salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/8 tsp ground chipotle powder or cayenne

Preheat the oven to 450F degrees.  Toss the sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat and a little sea salt, and spread out on a sheet pan.  Place in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes until starting to brown at the edges and softened.  Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Place about 1 1/2 cups of them in a food processor, and process until smooth along with 1/4 tsp sea salt, a garlic clove, and 1/8 tsp ground chipotle powder. Set the puree and remaining diced potatoes aside.

Pizza Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water

To make the pizza crust, combine the flour, xanthan gum and sea salt in a bowl, and whisk until well blended. Add the oil and water, and mix in until you have a soft dough.  Turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper with a light dusting of flour, and roll out into a 14 inch circle.  Set aside.

For Pizza Assembly:

• olive oil
• handful fresh arugula
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Pre-heat the oven to 400F degrees.  Set a pan on the center rack with an upside down sheet pan, or a pizza stone set on it. Brush the crust with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and slide the parchment with the crust on it onto the stone.  Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove the crust from the oven (still on the parchment). Top with the roasted sweet potato puree, the arugula, the diced roasted potatoes, jalapenos, then the cheese, making sure it is all evenly distributed.  Place the pizza in the oven, turn up the temperature to 475F and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown (keep an eye on it after 15 as some ovens cook faster than others). Remove the pizza and parchment from the oven, slide pizza onto a cutting board or plate, scatter pomegranate seeds over the top, slice and enjoy!