Cashew “Ricotta” and Spinach Pizza

I’m glad pizza dough recipes usually yield enough dough for two pizzas.

Let me set the pathetic scene for you:

Girl. Alone in the kitchen. Dog too busy chewing on a bone to notice. Girl peers into the oven. The scent of charcoal blasts her nose. Top of crust is bubbling but uncooked. Potatoes share the same undercooked fate. Girl scrunches nose and almost grabs the pan without a hot pad. Girl tries to pry dough off cookie sheet with a fork. Girl eats the pieces that are salvagable as well as the half cooked rosemary potatoes. Dog looks on with disapproving eyes.

It was just as bad as it sounds. I can’t win them all, but I pretty much eat them all. I just hate wasting things that are edible. Thankfully, I had the other half of that dough to redeem myself with. And what sweet redemption it was! I tested out a cashew spread on top of it all, and plopped my backside down on the couch for the first time in a long, long time. I ate the whole thing with some wilted spinach. It was pretty awesome. I’d need to run the cashew spread through the processor a little longer next time, but it did yield that grainy ricotta texture sans moisture.

Have you seen Freakonomics? Watch that. It was super interesting if you’re into knowing how certain things work, like why the crime rate went down in the 90s and about cheating.

Have you seen Chaos Theory? Don’t. It was one of those movies where I would have turned it off if I weren’t already halfway through it. It was too late to start another movie, and I didn’t want to find something else to do. Watching Ryan Reynolds wasn’t even a redeeming quality. Sad.

Inspiration: StoneSoup and Choosing Raw

Ingredients

Crust–

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 160g water
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cashew cheese–

• 1 cup cashews, soaked for 2+ hours
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white miso [I didn’t have any]
• 1/4 cup basil [I used an Italian blend]

Additional Ingredients–

• 1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
• Red chili flake

Preparation

1. Mix all crust ingredients into a bowl until it all comes together in a stand mixer [or by hand].
2. Switch to a dough hook and allow the mixer to knead the dough for 5 minutes.
3. Add dough to a oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 30-60 minutes.
4. In the bowl of a food processor, add the nuts and process well.
5. Add salt, lemon, and miso.
6. Drizzle in water to aid in the consistency.
7. Once consistency is reached, add the basil and mix.
8. Preheat the oven to 350º.
9. Roll half of the dough out and place on a cookie sheet with a silpat [or parchment].
10. Smother the dough with the cashew spread and top with a handful or two of spinach.
11. Sprinkle with red chili flakes.
12. Bake for 5-10 minutes until crust is crisp and browning [I was closer to 5 minutes because I like a chewier dough].