Sequestration Meal #497

 

I genuinely don't know how or why this is true, but this is one of the absolute best pizzas I have ever eaten in my life. And it doesn't even remind me that much of any other pizza I've ever had. But I'd definitely make it again!

It started when I ran across a recipe for jalapeno pizza on an omnivore blog. I've been using Miyoko's pizza cheese and need to use it up, and wanted to branch out a little (because, let's face it, my only constant these days is trying new things all the time). But I didn't have any salsa verde and also wasn't that interested in buying any, so I substituted some vegan ricotta seasoned with garlic and Italian seasoning for the sauce. I also didn't think I needed feta after that, so I just left that off altogether.

The crust, if it matters, is my usual thin crust pizza dough from All Recipes. I let it rest after kneading while I prepped the remainder of the ingredients and then stretched it out, rather than using a rolling pin, which has been my usual pattern; it took some patience to do the stereotypical fling-dough-around-on-your-fists thing but this crust turned out so well that I think this will be my usual method in the future!

So what does this mean, in practice, you may be asking, not wanting to follow all those links? It's a base of thin crust with vegan ricotta spread over it as the sauce, then topped with sauteed zucchini, sliced jalapeno, corn, red onion, and non-dairy mozzarella, then baked. After it came out of the oven, I sprinkled it with fresh cilantro.

It smelled amazing and it tasted even better. I elevated this to perfection with some homemade vegan ranch, because the American Midwest seems to have infiltrated my brain when it comes to pizza--virtually all pizzas are better with ranch.

Possibly the best part of getting that liquid mozzarella is that it has inspired me to keep looking for new pizza possibilities! I'm excited to see what I find next.