I’ve been going through something of a vegan cheese phase recently. I don’t recall having much goat cheese in my pre-vegan days (I don’t think I liked it), but I found a few recipes for it and decided to make my version of Bryanna Clark Grogan’s pear and goat cheese pizza. This version, with goat cheese, pear, basil and caramelised onions did not disappoint! I had mine with a side salad of baby salad greens, chopped pears, maple-glazed pecans and vegan feta.
Vegan Goat Cheese and Pear Pizza Encrusted with Basil and Caramelised Onions
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pizza dough (recipe follows)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced into thin strips and caramelised (see instructions here)
- 1 recipe goat cheese (recipe follows)
- 3 pears, cut into thin slices
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1-2 tsp dried Italian herb blend, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F / 230 C. Roll out pizza dough and place on cookie sheet or pizza stone.
- Prick the dough all over with the prings of a wet fork, and brush with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Place in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove and prick the crust all over with the prongs of a dry fork, and put it back in the oven for another 4 minutes, then remove. Pre-baking the crust like this will help prevent it from getting soggy.
- Spread the goat cheese all over the pre-baked pizza crust. Top with pear slices, chopped basil and caramelised onion. Sprinkle with dried Italian herb blend, if desired.
- Put the pizza in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is crisp and the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Cut into slices and serve while still hot. Leftover pieces can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days and reheated or eaten cold — nothing beats cold pizza for breakfast! ;)
Pizza Dough
- 2/3 c warm water
- 1/2 tbsp quick baking yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 1/3 c flour
Sprinkle oil, sugar, salt and yeast over the warm water and let it rest for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast begins the foam. Mix in the the flour and knead for 5-10 minutes (or until you get sick of kneading), and then cover with a cloth and leave to rise for a couple of hours, until it doubles.
Vegan Goat Cheese
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp / 88g / 3 1/8 oz raw cashews
- 12.3 oz / 350g silken tofu
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp tahini
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules or 1 chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1-2 tbsp chives
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.
