Odds are you don’t have any idea how much vitamin K you are getting in your daily diet. Should you? Probably not, but if you’re interested in knowing; vitamin K is kind of like a glue for other proteins. It helps bind calcium to your bones and helps blood coagulate.
What does this have to do with pizza, you ask? Basil has 98% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K.
If I were a doctor, and I want to be very, very clear about this – I am not a doctor. But if I were, I would write you a prescription for this pesto pizza.
Take one slice of this Pesto Pizza with liquid. For maximum results, take two.
Seriously, though. Not a doctor.
Yields one 12” pizza.
Ingredients
For the gluten-free crust:
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend (1 cup white rice flour + 1 cup brown rice flour + 1 cup tapioca flour + 3/4 tsp xanthan gum)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1¼ cup warm water, divided
- 1 tablespoon Melt® Organic, softened
For the Pesto
- 3 cups lightly packed basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium/ high heat until toasty)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Toppings for the Pizza
- 4 oz fresh goat cheese
- Toppings of choice: 1 thinly sliced tomato and sautéed shitake mushrooms
Directions
For the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine yeast and ¾ cup warm water (about 110 degrees). If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast! Let it set for 5 minutes to activate. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the sugar a few minutes in.
- In a separate bowl, combine gluten free flour blend, salt, and baking powder. Whisk until well combined.
- Make a well in the dry mixture and add the yeast mixture. Add the Melt and an additional ½ cup of warm water before stirring. Then use a wooden spoon to stir it all together until well combined.
- Lightly coat a baking sheet or pizza stone with non-stick spray and plop your dough down. Using your hands and a little brown rice flour if it gets too sticky, work from the middle and push to spread/flatten the dough out to the edge until the crust is pretty thin – less than 1/4 inch.
- Place the pizza crust in the oven and pre-bake for roughly 25-30 minutes, or until it begins to look dry. Cracks may appear, which is fine. Remove the pizza crust from the oven.
For the Pizza:
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
- Make the Pesto by combining the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor and process until just slightly chunky. With the motor running, slowly drizzle the remaining olive oil in a steady stream. Add the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and continue processing until smooth.
- Generously spread the pesto sauce over the top of the pizza crust and add the toppings of your choice (sliced tomato and sautéed shitake mushrooms) followed by soft mounds of goat cheese.
- Carefully place the pizza in the oven until your toppings are warm and bubbly and the crust edge looks golden brown, between 15 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve.