Indonesian Pizza

I named this pizza in honor of tempeh, which originated in Indonesia.  To complete the theme, this pizza has a sweet, spicy peanut sauce and chopped cilantro on top.  This may or may not sound like a weird combination, but trust me, it's delicious!

Indonesian Pizza

Ingredients:
wheat pizza dough (recipe follows)
sweet and spicy peanut sauce (recipe follows)
2 oz. tempeh, crumbled
1 cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya)
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread the crust with peanut sauce.  Sprinkle the crumbled tempeh evenly over the pizza.  Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pizza.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and cheese is melted.  Sprinkle cilantro over pizza just before serving.


Wheat Pizza Crust
Makes one 12" pizza

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon vegan sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup water, heated to 120°F

Directions:
Combine all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar and sea salt in a medium or large bowl.  Add hot beer, stirring the mixture until smooth.  Gradually mix in enough whole wheat flour to make a soft dough.  Knead dough on a floured surface, adding more flour if it gets too sticky, until dough is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. (I like to knead mine inside the large mixing bowl so that I don't have to dirty my counter-top.)  Cover dough (a clean dish towel works nicely) and let rise 15 minutes.  While the dough is rising, I preheat the oven to 425°F.

Spread dough into desired shape on a cookie sheet.  (I've made traditional round pizzas, heart-shaped pizzas, rectangular pizzas, oblong pizzas....get creative if you want!)  Spread on the sauce and add pizza toppings.  Bake pizza 10 to 15 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and vegan cheese (if using) is melted.
 


Sweet and Spicy Peanut Sauce
Makes enough for about 2 pizzas

Ingredients:
1/4 cup smooth, salted, natural peanut butter
or 1/4 cup smooth, unsalted, natural peanut butter and add 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 cup agave nectar
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 to 1 tablespoon sambal oelek, or to taste

Directions:
In a medium bowl, use a fork to combine the peanut butter and agave nectar.  When smooth, add the lime juice and coconut milk and stir until smooth.  Add the sambal oelek last, so you can taste the heat level and adjust it accordingly.  Use 1 tablespoon to make it spicy or 1/2 tablespoon for a milder sauce.  If you have leftover sauce, use it as a veggie dip!

Indonesian Pizza

Cheesy "Crab" Dip

This recipe is pure magic, and all the credit goes to my wonderful husband! He invented this dip last year when we were wondering what to serve at a party.  There was no starting recipe to veganize...he basically just asked, "What ingredients can I combine to make something taste like crab dip?" and came up with some pure creative genius!  Serve this fabulous dip with crackers, chips or as a sandwich spread.  But definitely take it easy...this isn't exactly health food...

Vegan Cheesy Crab Dip
Serves 2-10 depending on how hungry everyone is!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup curry cashews (or if you can't find them, use raw cashews)
1 teaspoon kelp flakes
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
3 strips vegan "bacon" (I used Smart Bacon brand)
4 oz. vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti brand)
1/3 cup vegan mayo (I used Vegenaise)
1/2 of a small white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1/2 block extra-firm or firm tofu tofu, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Put curry cashews in a food processor and pulse until it is a fine crumb texture.  Add kelp, nutritional yeast and bacon.  Pulse to blend mixture until bacon is in tiny pieces (think bacon-bits).  Add cream cheese and mayo.  Pulse or run food processor until mixture is well combined.  Stir in the chopped onion, celery and tofu.  Chill for at least 3 hours before serving, so the tofu has time to soak up some flavor.  This works well if you make it the day before serving.

Cheesy "Crab" Dip