Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Pizza Recipe

Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper

Creating a flavorful plant-based pizza might seem daunting to the uninitiated, but it's surprisingly simple, even in the depths of winter. This roasted cauliflower and mushroom vegan pizza uses a few tricks to get maximum flavor – and umami punch – from winter produce. 

First up, the cauliflower and mushrooms are tossed with lots of olive oil, sea salt, and spices. Next, they go in the oven for a quick roast 25 minutes is just enough time to soften them up and get a few crispy, golden edges. Though cauliflower and mushrooms are a winning combination, these pizzas lend themselves to all kinds of variation – try quick-roasted broccoli or Brussels sprouts instead cauliflower. If you'd like to change things up even more, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or artichokes would all lend a briny depth. 

While the vegetables are roasting, let your pizza dough come to temperature and prep the sunflower seed topping in your food processor. Sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast bring a lot of flavor, but there's also room to add fresh garlic, lemon juice, chilies, or sea salt. Or you could pulse in fresh herbs, a handful of nuts, or miso for added oomph. 

Once you have all the ingredients prepped, it's time to make the pizzas! Just be sure your oven is blazing hot and that you use plenty of flour while pressing and stretching your dough. Pre-baked crusts, naan, or pita bread can also be used in place of traditional pizza dough. 

Roasted Cauliflower and Mushroom Pizza

Makes: 4 servings

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Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables

• 1 medium head cauliflower, core trimmed and sliced 1/2-inch thick

• 1 pound mushrooms, brushed clean, stems removed, and cut 1/2-inch thick

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon each fresh thyme leaves and parsley

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Sunflower Seed Topping

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

• 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 - 2 lemons)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

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Pizzas

• 1 pound pizza dough (store-bought or use your favorite recipe)

• Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

• Pinch sea salt

• 8 ounce can of tomato sauce or pizza sauce of choice

• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves

• 1 tablespoon parsley leaves

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Instructions

1. Working ahead of time, prep pizza dough using your favorite recipe. You can also use store-bought dough or use pre-baked flatbreads or pizza crusts instead.

2. An hour ahead of time – or overnight – soak the sunflower seeds in cold water. Strain and set aside. 

3. When ready to make the pizzas, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Set out 2 large, rimmed baking sheets. Place cauliflower florets on one and sliced mushrooms on the other. Toss each with half of the olive oil, sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and herbs. Roast 25 minutes. 

4. Once vegetables are out of the oven, turn heat up to 500 degrees F. Move a rack to the top of the oven. Meanwhile, set cold pizza dough out to come to room temperature. 

5. To make the sunflower seed topping, pulse to combine drained sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. Pulse until sunflower seeds have a sand-like texture. Scrape out of food processor, and set aside. Leftover sunflower mixture will keep well sealed in the fridge for two days. 

6. If using pizza dough, divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, press one of the dough rounds out until it's about 8-inches wide. Then carefully stretch dough to about 12-inches. Set on a lightly floured pizza pan. If dough becomes difficult to work with, let it rest for a minute or two. If desired, toss coarse cornmeal or polenta under the dough to prevent sticking. 

7. Working quickly, brush dough all over with olive oil, Spread out several spoonfuls of tomato sauce and sprinkle with sea salt. Scatter roasted vegetables all over pizza and then dot with sunflower seed topping. Slide into oven and cook pizza 7  - 10 minutes, or until crust is golden. Repeat process for second pizza. 

8. Finish pizzas with fresh herbs and red pepper flakes, slice, and serve!

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