The Recipe ReDux: Sweet Potato, Mushroom, and Kale Pizza

Mmmmm, pizza.  Who doesn’t love a good pizza?  When I heard that this month’s Recipe ReDux was pizza, I might have flipped out a little bit.  It was the most exciting announcement of the year!  When I started to plan what kind of pizza to make, I decided to make it all about the colors and the big flavors.

This pizza is not a throw-it-together-in-a-minute kind of pizza.  It most definitely should not be started at 10 pm (not that I did that or anything…).  This pizza takes its time to come together, but it is totally worth it in the end.  The sweet and savory mix of the sweet potato “sauce” is balanced by the earthy mushrooms and caramelized onions.  And since my life involves sprinkling a bit of kale over everything, I added some of that in, too.  All the components can be prepared a day or two before, and then thrown together at the last minute to produce a beautiful pizza.

What’s your favorite pizza?

Sweet Potato, Mushroom, and Kale Pizza

Adapted from Oh My Veggies, makes one pie

Ingredients:

Dough for one pizza, either store bought or homemade

2 sweet potatoes

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon roughly chopped sage

1/3 cup almond milk

Salt to taste

1 large yellow onion

3 cups loosely packed kale, roughly chopped

1 large portabella mushroom, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425

1.  Heat a nonstick pan over low heat.  Add in a tablespoon of olive oil, then add the thinly sliced onions.  Cook, stirring often, for 30-40 minutes, but the onions are a beautiful caramel color.  If they begin to crisp, turn the heat lower and/or add a dash of white wine into the pan to add some liquid.

2.  While the onions cook, prepare the garlic and the sweet potatoes.  Slice off the top of the head of garlic, drizzle with a little olive oil, and wrap in aluminum foil.  Toss the package in the oven for 40 minutes.  Roughly chop the sweet potatoes.  Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and a dash of salt.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the pieces are fork tender.

3.  Lightly sauté the kale with the remaining olive oil until it’s just wilted.  I just tossed it into the pan right after the onions came out.  Also thinly slice the portabella mushroom and chop into halves or thirds.

4.  When the sweet potatoes and garlic are done, toss the potato into a food processor or blender.  Pop out all the cloves of garlic and add those, too.  Add the sage and the almond milk to the bowl and process until it forms a smooth mixture.  Adjust the salt to taste.

5.  Time to assemble!  Roll out your pizza dough into whatever shape you want, making it as thin as you want.  Spread the sweet potato mixture over the dough, leaving at least ½ inch at the edges.  Next, top with mushroom slices, then kale, then onions.  Bake, either on a pizza stone or on a pan, for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the kale is crispy.  Allow to cool slightly, then slice and serve.

Enjoy!