On weeknights I tend to cook relatively healthy meals most of the time which means I don't mind having a splurge on something a little less healthy on the weekends. Pizza and calzones are examples of the more indulgent meals that we enjoy on these occasions. Last weekend I had a vague plan to make pizza and wanted to use up some beetroots so I made another batch of beetroot pepperoni on Friday night.
The following day I noticed our freezer was half full of mock meat from a shopping expedition to Vincent Vegetarian Food over six months ago and realised that I had never tried any of these mock meat products on pizza before. A further scrummage in the fridge revealed some other interesting leftovers I'd forgotten that had potential pizza toppings written all over them - tofu bacon and tempeh burgers. The original plan of a beetroot pepperoni pizza was transforming into a vegan meat lovers pizza before I knew it which sounded even more interesting!
After layering the pizza base with tomato paste, chopped onions and garlic, on went the mushrooms, beetroot pepperoni and tofu bacon. Next up was the "chicken" mock meat, chopped up tempeh burgers, a drizzle of BBQ sauce, followed by a layer of cheezly. This was the tastiest and most delicious vegan pizza that I've made and we all enjoyed it so much. Even though it didn't have the healthiest toppings, it's not a combination I can see happening around here again unless of course I'm graced with the same leftover ingredients at the same time.
serendipity is great in the kitchen - especially when it turns neglected goodies into something special. I am not sure how I would with the mock chicken but I know I would love the rest of it - and I am interested that you put tofu bacon in the freezer - I have never tried it but it never lasts long in our house
ReplyDeleteSerendipity can be a wonderful thing in the kitchen although it's really made me want to make a similar pizza again! I'm sure this would be great without the mock chicken as there was already so many great flavours from the beetroot pepperoni, tofu bacon and tempeh burgers.
DeleteI actually haven't tried freezing tofu bacon and am not sure how well that would work. I had already cooked a full batch of it and had some slices leftover in the fridge.
What a wonderful freezer discovery (do you have a big freezer? I dream of having a big freezer one day), and a wonderful resulting pizza. I can also see your beetroot pepperoni being a bit like the tofu bacon, sitting on my 'to make' list with increasing priority until it becomes the single most important thing to be made. I have no excuse for the pepperoni either, given I have all the ingredients for it...:)
ReplyDeleteSome of the discoveries were found in the fridge as well as the freezer! I do have a decent sized freezer these days which does come in handy at times. The pepperoni is really tasty like the tofu bacon but takes a while to bake so it's better to try it out while the weather is still cool.
DeleteOh wow, what a perfectly indulgent pizza! And still not terrible for you - it has beetroot on it, at least!
ReplyDeleteYes, very indulgent! I did throw a few mushies in there as well so we did have a couple of vegetables at least. ;)
DeleteOooh, that pizza looks amazing--love all the random 'meat' products you were able to use on it!
ReplyDeleteThe "meat" products were a lot of fun to use on the pizza and the great thing was that 3 out of 4 of them were home made!
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