Thursday 9 June 2011

Pizza with Almond Feta, Spinach, Black Olives, Pine Nuts and Spring Onion

Vegan Spinach and Almond Feta Pizza
Better than any greasy cheese pizza I've ever had ;-)

Vegan Spinach and Almond Feta Pizza
Lovely with a warmed dill olive oil drizzle


So, I think this is the 3rd dish I've made with that almond feta. I wasn't kidding when I said it was going to change my life!! One of my favourite pizza's back in the vegetarian days was always spinach and feta, so I knew it was just a matter of time before I had a go making one with the almond feta. This turned out delicious, and I will definitely be making it again! 

I have a few pizzas on here but most are with melty cheezly, which I love but it can be hard to find, however anyone can make this almond feta! Also, whenever I blog pizza I  always feel like I am just blogging the base as I always end up saying "but, just put on whatever you like". Of course you can here but these ingredients do work well together. Only thing was my base/crust could have cooked a little longer but the feta was browning a bit much. It's still cooked there, just not as golden brown as I would have liked. So next time I would either par bake the base after poking with a fork or par cook without the feta and add it a little later :-)

Just a reminder too that you need a day to make the almond feta first! 

Makes 1 large pizza for 2 very hungry people, or 4 not so hungry (or with a side):
Base:
225g extra strong white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast (not instant yeast)
150ml hand hot water
1 tsp olive oil (plus more for greasing)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl dissolve the sugar into the warm water then sprinkle on the yeast. Leave it for 10 minutes to get all foamy. Add the olive oil and whisk it up. Stir this into the flour with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a ball. Whilst adding some more flour to prevent sticking, knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes, it should be smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. Punch down knead a couple times, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Now hand pat down or roll out into a circle, however thick you want the base. Keep in mind it will rise some more.

Toppings:
Pizza Sauce - I used Marks and Spencers Margherita Pizza Sauce here
25g toasted pine nuts
about 75 - 100g of the almond feta
baby spinach - enough to cover the pizza
25g sliced black olives
2 spring onions, chopped - green part too! :-)

Now simply spread on the sauce, I like to be quite generous with the sauce as you are not having melty cheese all over the place it helps with any dryness. Place the spinach leaves all over to cover the base then sprinkle on the olives, spring onion and pine nuts. Now crumble over the feta, again it won't melt so try and be fairly uniform here.

Place on a baking sheet  and bake in a 200C preheated oven until the crust puffs up and is golden brown and the feta is slightly golden. About 20 minutes but keep an eye on it :-)

Vegan Spinach and Almond Feta Pizza

Herb Drizzle Oil: (optional)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp chopped fresh herb - I used dill, goes lovely with this but oregano would be my other choice

Gently heat the olive oil in a small fry pan and add the herb, do not let it boil, just gently heat it up till warmed and fragrant. When the pizza is out of the oven drizzle some of the herb oil over and brush some of it around the crust.


I found 1/4 of the pizza perfect with a side salad for a meal.

Nutritional Information: based on 1/4 serving
Calories: 405
Fat: 19.3g
Sat Fat: 2.1g
Fibre: 3.5g
Protein: 9.8g
Carbs: 48.7g
Sugar: 2.0g


You Might Also Like: 

Vegan Pepperoni PizzaRoasted Vegetable Calzone





6 comments:

  1. This sounds so much better than a pizza with "real" cheese. Since I went vegan I cannot stand looking at that greasy stuff anymore. Your's looks very fresh and appetizing.

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  2. I've just bought a cheesecloth and am going to be having a go at the almond feta very soon. Pizza looks gorgeous!

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  3. That sounds really great. I am sure to try it very soon!!
    Lovely greetings from Germany

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  4. This looks really yummy, and I've been looking for a good pizza dough recipe! I can't find extra-strong flour but my understanding is that it has a higher gluten content.

    So do you think it would work to add some vital wheat gluten to regular or whole wheat bread flour? Thanks! I just found your blog and I'm in foodie heaven! :)

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  5. Hi! Many thanks :-) You should certainly be able to add vital wheat gluten to regular flour,I had a look online and some say 2 tsp of vital wheat gluten per cup of regular flour (there is about 1 1/2 cups in my recipe there) Certainly worth experimenting with at any rate! :-)

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  6. Looks awesome! I could probably even get my daughter to give this a try since she looooooves olives. Thanks for the tip about adding the feta later. My little oven has a tendency to overbrown things on top. Glad I found your blog, now I have a couple things to do with the feta I made today!!

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