A Vegan Obsession

Thin Polenta Crust Pizza - Feta, sweet caramelized onion and wilted spinach - Gluten free and VEGAN!

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I don’t even remember how I came across it…it is a ssshhh..secret, anyway so..I guess it doesn’t matter how..BUT I’m IN.   A new member of The Secret Recipe Club..Woo hoo! I BELONG.

It all sounds very childhood ‘swallows and amazons’ doesn’t it?  Fun. That’s nice.

SRC assigns you to a fellow blogger.  Your mission - should you wish to accept it - is to pick 1 recipe from their blog (It took me days to decide!) and then recreate it in your own style: sinfull to sinless or visa versa; swap an ingredient; spice it up perhaps; or push up the 4 to 5 of your ‘a day’ quota;  doh! ruin it (oh dear God, hopefully not!)… anything..FREE REIGN.

For my FIRST assignment (oh the importance of it all!) I was given a link on a disk that self destructed upon reading (ok, that is a lie..I was emailed it).  It revealed COOKIN CHEMIST to be my focus of culinary capers (no pun intended but..hey great foodie connection!).   After much consideration I picked pizza to morph.  They seemed to LOVE pizza…I was walking a tightrope.. They could either LOVE or hate my recreation.  I’m a brave lass. 

Here is Tessa of Cookin Chemist’s original recipe for Feta, Onions & Spinach Pizza.  I decided to vegan..ize and gluten… free…ze free it.

But HOW?..I hear you cry.  Hush sweet cook, the answer is within; 

VEGAN FETA, CARAMELIZED ONION & SPINACH PIZZA ON GLUTEN FREE POLENTA CRUST

Serves 2- 4

For the polenta base
1 1/4 cup polenta
3 cups water
1 vegan stock cube
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp of each; basil, oregano, parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper

1.in a pan pour in polenta and add all but the flax ‘egg’ and stir gently until brought to a boil..turn down the heat to a simmer and continue stirring until polenta thickens.
2. remove from heat and mix in the ‘egg’.
3.pour into a cake pan, the type with a removeable base, and refrigerate for minimum of 30 minutes
4.place in a preheated oven - 375 degrees - and bake for 35mins.  Leave to cool.

I had seen a few recipes on the web that bemoaned their base being delicate but with the use of the flax ‘egg’ it holds up (literally) very well.  A great result.

For the topping
1 cup spinach (for some reason I prefer frozen as it is less ‘earthy’ and easier.  just thaw and squeeze out excess liquid..drink this/put it in a soup or smoothie)
1 large onion cut into rings
marinara sauce (see below)
3/4 cup vegan cheese (I used Cheezly’s Cheddar..it’s light and tastes ‘feta’ like)
1 tbs olive oil
black pepper to taste
a swirl of balsamic glaze (optional)
To make the marinara sauce
1/2 can chopped tomatoes
a few basil leaves
1 tbs nutritional yeast (you can also a splash of Braggs Aminos or Tamari
1 clove garlic - chopped
1/4 tsp salt
cracking of black pepper

1. make the marinara - lightly fry the garlic then add all the remaining ingredients.  Cook on a low heat for 10 mins.
2. put sliced onions into a pan on a low heat with oil.  Put on the lid and leave to cook for 15 mins until caramelized and sweet.
2.grab your base (loosen it from the cake tin base) and spoon and spread over the marinara sauce
3.next up is the onions
4. dot the spinach over the top
5. crumble/dice over the ‘feta’
6.a flourish of black pepper
7.swirl over balsamic glaze if using
8.cut and serve to the hungry

Job done.  Very yum.  What a great way to find inspiration - thanks to the Secret Recipe Club & Tessa of Cookin Chemist!

Top Tips..

I made double the recipe  for the base and froze the extra base to save time when the next pizza craving strikes.
I made the pizza as part of a party spread so I had a slice leftover.  I put it in the freezer and it froze very well.

Tell all your yeast free, gluten free friends about the base…I am totally converted!

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Comments

  4. It’s been awhile since we’ve made this pizza, but it is still one of our favorites. Glad you were able to adapt it!

  6. Noelle - I SO did! It was a revelation - pizza enters my life again :-)

    Lisa - thank you! I had a look at your recipe and wonder about veganizing it!

    Chow - have you made polenta pizza?

    Tessa - thanks for the inspiration!

    Sara - it really is. I am looking forward to my next pizza night.

  8. what a unique crust - I’d never thought of using corn as a base for pizza, but it must be way better than rice flour. I’m going to forward this to my brother who keeps a gluten-free kitchen. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Shelby..pumpkin, cinnamon buns…are they vegan?! Would love to try those.

    Dan…fab, I hope your brother enjoy the crust. Perhaps he could give me some gluten free tips too!

  11. So delicious sounding! I’ve been thinking about polenta again lately - it must be the cool mornings that feel like fall. Polenta says fall to me - not sure why. I love the idea of using it as a pizza base.

  12. Ginny - thanks for stopping by..that’s so funny!

    Themommybowl.com - it is curious how we start to crave things at different times of the year. I’m starting to crave apple & berry crumble..ooh and chestnut pie - both dishes that hug from the inside.

  13. Ginny - thanks for stopping by..that’s so funny!

    Themommybowl.com - it is curious how we start to crave things at different times of the year. I’m starting to crave apple & berry crumble..ooh and chestnut pie - both dishes that hug from the inside.

  14. Wow amazing job adapting that to make it vegan and gluten free, impressive! I have featured you today on SRC :) http://secretrecipeclub.com/vegan-feta-carmelized-onion-spinach-pizza-a-vegan-obsession/

  16. Sounds totally incredible! I love naturally vegan meals like this that don’t have a lot of imitation meat or cheese. You go, girl!

  17. Caramelized onions make just about anything taste amazing, and combined with the spinach and “feta”, this sounds like one winner of a pizza! Very creative use of polenta as a crust, too.

  18. Hi Amanada, thanks for featuring me!

    Thanks for visiting Jennifer 😉

    Thanks Veronica x

    Hannah, I agree, caramilsed onions are pretty bloody amazing. Give me a bowl of them with slow roasted garlic squeezed from their skins anyday..trouble is not very good for my social life! :)

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