Ok, this one sounds a bit random, I will admit…But bear with me and picture a home-made pizza dough, fresh out of the oven, topped with a garlicky cauliflower butterbean spread, creamy melted cheeze – more mellow than the acidity of tomato sauce – combined with a spicy, tangy kick of kimchi and some cooling fresh greens. Have I sold you on this yet?
It all started with this rice-based mozzarella that I had bought with the vague notion that it might magically turn into pizza if left to its own devices. As should have been foreseen, its best-by date crept up on me and suddenly I had to step up to the plate. The most glorious things often really do occur in the spur of the moment when, out of necessity, you’ve just got to use what you have and make the best of it. What I had on hand was some thawing cauliflower, an opened can of butterbeans, a semi-eaten jar of kimchi and a lot of faith. Thankfully it all came together in this, for me at least, novel combination – an unlikely group of friends that just click. Plus, I love the nutritional value that the beans and cauliflower bring to the party as well as the probiotic punch of the gut-friendly fermented kimchi.
I will definitely be coming back to this combo again, and I hope you enjoy it too!
Cauliflower Butterbean Kimchi Pizza
Makes: 2 large pizzas
Ingredients: Dough*
- 500g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 packet (9g) dry yeast
- 250 ml lukewarm water
- pinch of sugar / splash of maple syrup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
* I googled pizza dough recipes and picked this one, adapting it to use dry yeast, as that’s what I had on hand. Feel free to use your favorite pizza dough recipe, if you already have one.
Ingredients: Pizza sauce
- 150g frozen cauliflower (ca. 1 1/2 cups), thawed
- 150g tinned butter beans, drained (ca. 1 cup)
- 2-3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
- olive oil, for the pan
- 1/2 tsp smokey paprika
- 6 tbsp plain plant milk (I used oat milk)
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of turmeric (for the color)
- salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients: Pizza toppings
- 200g plant-based mozzarella-style cheeze (I used Verys for the first time and found it very melty!)
- Kimchi (as much as the heart desires; I used this one from Pure Taste, which I tried for the first time. Wonderful, spicy kimchi, but definitely on the pricy side)
- Optional: fresh greens such as arugula or spinach
Method
- For the dough add the dry yeast to the lukewarm water and sugar, set aside for ca. 5-10 minutes and it should start to bubble. Meanwhile measure out the flour into a bowl and incorporate the salt, before adding the yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix with your hands until you can form a dough (add 1-3 tbsp of extra water, if necessary) and knead. If kneading by hand, as I did, plan in a good 10-15 minutes for this. Shape the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside somewhere warm to rise for ca. 40 minutes.
- While the dough is rising make your pizza sauce by heating up some olive oil in a pan, adding the garlic, salt and – a few minutes later – the cauliflower and butter beans. Add the smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper as you go along. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blend with the plant milk, nutritional yeast, mustard and adding the nutmeg and turmeric. Perform a final taste test before setting aside (/refrigerating, if you’re not about to use it, see note below).
- Once the dough has risen, divide it into two equal balls and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Mine ended up being quite large (they hid the plates they were served in :) ), but just able to fit into a normal sized baking tray.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly onto the two pizza dough bases before adding your toppings: the cheeze and the kimchi (save the greens for after the pizzas have baked).
- Bake in an oven preheated to 220°C (fan; 240°C non-fan) for around 15 minutes. Keep an eye on your pizzas to remove earlier, if necessary.
- Serve by adding extra kimchi and fresh greens, if using.
Note: You should be able to make the dough the day before and place in the fridge to rise (haven’t tried this yet but apparently it’s a thing). The pizza sauce could also be prepared the day before, if needed.
Enjoy!
Feel free to tag @blueberrysmiles22 if you share your creations on Instagram, so I can share in the joy :)
