Vegan Sweet Potato Crust - Buffalo Chickpea Pizza

Things have been so crazy-crazy busy lately, yet at the same time pretty relaxing!  I took last Friday off to spend the day with my husband.  The last time I took a Friday off we spent it at the dealership buying a new Chevy truck, so this time I wanted to do something a little more enjoyable!  We started the day with breakfast at our FAVORITE vegan restaurant Pomegranate Café in Awatukee. Everything on the menu is amazing!  After some debate of where to spend our day we decided to drive up to Jerome.  Only a couple hours north Jerome is an old mining town, turned ghost town, turned great shopping, art and wine! I love everything about this place...except for the Grand Hotel that is supposed to be haunted....scariest night of my life was staying there!  LOL!  We spent a great day walking through the town, shopping, stopping at the Spirit Room Bar for a couple of beers, lunch at Grapes on the patio.  Perfect day!

Over the weekend I took my favorite vegan pizza crust and topped it with something a little different.  The result - OMG a new amazing recipe!! The spicy and sweet combo complements each other so well!

Vegan Sweet Potato Crust - Buffalo Chickpea Pizza

 

Vegan Sweet Potato Crust - Buffalo Chickpea Pizza 

Sweet Potato Crust
From: Breast Cancer Maven
Ingredients

• 2 cups of sweet potato puree (2 large roasted sweet potatoes)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 TB chia seeds
• 3 TBS water
• 1 ¼ cup gluten free oat flour (I used all Garbanzo Bean Flour)
• ¼ cup almond flour
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• ½ tsp. salt

Instructions

Roasted Potatoes and Garlic:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash potatoes well and puncture with a fork a few times.
3. Lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil to catch the drips.
4. Next prepare the garlic by cutting the top off of the garlic to expose the individual cloves.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Wrap the entire bulb in foil, place on the baking sheet with the potatoes.
7. Bake the potatoes and garlic until tender, approximately 45 minutes.
8. Once finished, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Crust:

1. Next, prepare the chia egg by combining the chia seeds and water in a small bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes until it forms a gel.
2. Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and from 3-4 garlic cloves and place them in a large mixing bowl.
3. Using a fork, mash the potatoes and garlic into a smooth consistency.
4. Stir in the oat flour, almond meal, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, basil, oregano, and sea salt.
5. Add the chia egg and mix well.
6. Line a pizza pan with parchment paper.
7. Scoop the crust mixture onto the pan and slowly spread out the dough evenly on the pan using a spatula. This recipe will make one large pizza or two smaller pizzas.
8. Place the pan in the 400 degree preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes until the dough has set.
9. Remove from oven and add your Buffalo Chickpea topping.
10. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes until the edges are golden brown and your toppings are heated.

Buffalo Chickpea topping

From: Vegan Richa 

Ingredients

 

1. 3 Tbsp. buffalo hot sauce
2. 1.5 Tbsp. Sriracha
3. 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
4. 1 15 oz. can chickpeas

1. 1/2 cup ground cashew
2. 3/4 cup almond milk
3. 2 tbsp. flour or 1 Tbsp. arrowroot starch
4. 2/3 tsp. salt
5. 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
6. a very generous dash of black pepper

For the garlic sauce

1. 2/3 of the white sauce from above
2. 4 cloves of roasted garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
3. 1/4 tsp. onion powder
4. 1/2 tsp. Italian herb blend
5. 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
6. 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Celery ranch sauce

1. 1/3 of the white sauce from above
2. 1/2 tsp. ranch seasoning
3. 1/2 tsp. celery seeds
4. 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Make the Buffalo chickpeas: Mix everything under buffalo chickpeas. Mash a few chickpeas and let sit and marinate while you prep the sauce.
2. Make the White sauce: Blend all the ingredients under white sauce base until well combined into a smooth sauce.
3. Make the White Garlic sauce: Take about a 2/3 part of the white sauce form above and add garlic sauce ingredients. Mix well. Taste and adjust and mix or blend.
4. Make the Celery Ranch: Add the ranch seasoning, celery and vinegar and mix and keep ready.
5. Once your Sweet Potato crust is done cooking - Drizzle enough garlic sauce on the dough to coat. Add spinach or greens or other veggies of choice (I used celery!).
6. Layer buffalo chickpeas on the greens. Drizzle some buffalo sauce from the marinade.
7. Drizzle a generous amount of celery ranch.
8. Bake at pre-heated 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Broil for a minute to crisp.
9. Drizzle any leftover garlic sauce or celery ranch before serving.

Keeping it Real

Funny, the older I get the more I am OVER trying to please others and fighting with myself over fitting in and being the same as those around me.

Yesterday while out back I noticed in my flower garden this odd little yellow flower among my purple flowers.  No idea where it came from, but I loved how it stood out among the others...bright, proud and unique.  All my life I have felt like an outsider, maybe it was the red hair, I don't know.  I just knew that I wanted to be like everyone around me.  I am so over that.  Why be the same?  What's wrong with being unique an sticking out? A yellow flower among a sea of purple flowers?  I am so happy in my life, healthy and making time for silly hobbies I love to do!  I'm just keeping it real, discovering more and more about myself everyday.  What a great way to live.  :)  Tomorrow I will share a new fun hobby I just discovered!!

Have a happy & healthy Thursday!