Nourish the Budding Lotus

Portabello and Spinach Pizza

Pizza night is a special occassion in our household. Most specifically because we have found a great gluten free pizza crust. So in addition to this being a pizza recipe, this is also a quick and easy recipe, using a pre-made crust. Our favorite crust comes from Sami’s Bakery. He makes millet and flax pizza crusts, all gluten free ingredients, but just a warning that they do make their gluten free products in the same facility as products with gluten.

Their millet and flax products (also include crackers, bread and lavosh) are so good that I am dying to know the recipe because nothing compares to the quality of the products, and you can’t really tell that they are gluten free. It might have something to do with the use of a brick oven…but it is still a mystery to me.

We used to be able to purchase their products when we lived in Key West, but they haven’t made it out west yet, so we order online, and therefore keep it as a special treat.

Our favorite pizza lately is a portabello mushroom and spinach pizza which is pretty easy to put together. We even use a store bought sauce. After looking at the options around town, we are happy with Whole Foods Organic sauces. I am pretty surprised when I see how many companies use sugar in their pasta sauce. It seems like a violation of nature! Thankfully Whole Foods organic sauces (as far as I have found) do not add sugar to their sauce (and the price is great!). We have tried a few but personally I like the Mushroom Tomato Sauce.

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Portabello and Spinach Pizza

3 portabello mushroom caps
1 T tamari sauce
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 bag of baby spinach leaves (about 5 oz)
pasta sauce

mozzarella di buffalo
grated pecorino romano or parmagiana reggiano
fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean the mushroom caps. In a small bowl combine the tamari, balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper. (You might need to use a whisk to get them to combine well) Once the liquids are combined, place the mushrooms on a baking sheet, and brush the liquid over the top side of the mushroom, flip them over, and pour a third of the remaining liquid into the center of each of the caps. Cook the mushrooms in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a heat-proof bowl with a lid. (You can even place them in a bowl with a plate on top.) This will let the mushrooms continue to cook in their own steam while you prepare the rest of the meal.

In a medium saucepan heat half of a jar of tomato sauce and mix in the spinach greens. The amount of spinach that you use can be your preference, but we like a lot. Stir the spinach and sauce occasionally to incorporate. You do not need to cook the sauce and spinach for very long. Just enough to wilt the spinach, but don’t overcook it!

Meanwhile, if you are using Sami’s pizza crust, toast it in the hot oven for about 8 minutes. It should just start to crisp. Take it out of the oven and let it rest while you slice the other ingredients and prepare to decorate.

Slice the mozzarella, and chop the basil. Once you have given the mushrooms time to steam, you can also slice them. I prefer to slice them in long, thin pieces as you can see in the photo.

Now you are ready to decorate! Pizza definitely has to meet personal preferences so have fun. I usually put the spinach sauce on generously because Sami’s crust is quite thick. Then I arrange a generous amount of mushrooms, and a light sprinkle of pecorino romano. Distribute the fresh basil on top and lastly add the mozzarella. If you have quality mozzarella, you really don’t need much. A few slices spread around and you are ready to bake.

Cook for about 8 minutes in the oven. Slice and serve!

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I hope you get to enjoy Sami’s, but feel free to use this recipe for your own pizza dough or crust as well. Let me know what you think.