Polenta Pizza

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Polenta Pizza

You will need (for one pizza)

 

3 bulbs fresh garlic

1 red pepper

1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal

3 1/2 cups water

1 lb medium firm or firm tofu

3 - 4 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

1/2 - 1 cup prepared tomato sauce

nutritional yeast flakes or powder salt

other toppings to taste (see below)

 

This is baking in my oven as I type this. It is a no-added oils, no-

wheat thing (if you use wheat-free tamari soy sauce), though the

olives and tofu contain some fat.

 

An hour ahead of pizza assembly, preheat your oven to 400 F. Wrap

three bulbs of garlic in foil, and bake for about 45 minutes, until

tender. Take out and allow to cool.

 

Place a washed red pepper on the oven rack. Turn every 5 minutes for

about 20 minutes, until tender. Place in a brown paper bag, close up

tight and let sit until cool enough to handle. Slip the skins off,

slit down the middle and remove the stem and seeds. Slice into thin

strips.

 

Go back to the cooled garlic. Slice a thin bit off the top of each

bulb and squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl (yes, this is

messy and sticky). Throw the skins away. Set the roasted garlic aside.

 

Polenta Crust

Soak 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal in 1 cup of cold water. While that

is soaking, bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Add 2 tsp salt. Pour the soaking cornmeal in, whisking all the way.

Turn the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly until the cornmeal

is cooked through, sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan, and

is nice and thick (about 7-10 minutes). Remove from heat, and spread

evenly into a pizza pan. Let sit for 10 or more minutes.

 

In a large non-stick or cast iron pan, heat 3-4 tbsp tamari soy sauce

on high heat. Add 1 lb of chopped medium firm or firm tofu, and toss

constantly, on high heat, until the soy sauce is absorbed and the

tofu is a rich golden brown colour. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Spoon 1/2 - 1 cup prepared tomato sauce over the polenta crust.

Sprinkle this liberally with nutritional yeast powder or flakes. Top

with the tofu. Top with blobs of the roasted garlic, and the strips

of roasted red pepper. Add whatever other toppings you think you'd

like. We had fresh basil leaves, canned artichoke hearts, fresh

chopped broccoli, canned pineapple chunks, and black olives. Other

tasty ideas would be fresh, chopped mango and chopped hunks of

avocado. Hummus, too?

 

If you aren't concerned with fat content, drizzle with a bit of extra

virgin olive oil.

 

Bake in your 400 F oven for about 20 minutes, then turn on the

broiler and broil for about 5 minutes, until toppings are browned.

Let set for about 10 minutes, then cut into slices and eat up!

(You'll need a knife and fork for this one).

 

Serves 2-4, depending on appetites.