Cheeseless Pizza Recipe

This pizza dough is really easy and you only need to make it about an hour beforehand, just enough time to get the oven hot and your toppings ready to go.

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar. Once the dry ingredients are mixed, add the warm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix until thoroughly combined. You can do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook or I just go ahead and use my hands right from the beginning.

Once the dough forms a ball, knead the dough for one minute. Coat the dough with olive oil and leave it in the bowl covered with plastic wrap for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 while the dough rises.

Drain and rinse a can of navy beans. Place in a food processor with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 4 cloves of garlic, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Blend until completely smooth. You should have a spread that is a little creamier than a hummus. Add another dash of lemon juice if you need to.

Thinly slice your choice of onions. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a frying pan. Add the sliced onions to the pan with a pinch of salt. The key to caramelizing onions is to cook them slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning, for about 20-30 minutes.

Use a serrated knife to slice the beef steak tomatoes. Then use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons from the flesh of the summer squash, avoiding the seeds in the center.

You can decide between keeping the peppers whole or deseeded. Note that keeping the seeds will be spicier than if you cut them up and scrape the seeds out.

Pre-cook your pizza dough. On a flowered surface, shape the pizza dough with a mixture of pinching with your hands and using a floured rolling pin. Line a large flat baking dish with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil over the surface of the parchment paper.

Transfer the thin pizza dough to the oiled parchment paper. Use a fork to puncture the surface of the pizza dough, allowing air to escape. Place in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes.

When the bottom of the pizza dough is slightly browned, remove from the oven and spread the navy bean spread evenly over the surface. Next layer the tomatoes, squash ribbons, and caramelized onions.

Return the pizza to the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned.