Pizza: Barbecue Tempeh and Pesto-Fresh Tomato

Can you stand it, dear readers? Yet another post about pizza? I hope so because there is more to come! My fantasy of having my open letter to Tofurky generously answered by that same entity came true, and I will soon be posting about their new line of frozen vegan pizzas! My cup overfloweth. Perhaps in anticipation of receiving the coupons for these pizza from the very nice rep with her keen eye trained on Google Alerts, I couldn't help but make my own pizza again last night. Perhaps also in anticipation of getting to try different flavors/varieties of pizza, I decided to make two very different kinds myself.

C swore that he didn't have a preference, though I suspect he was just being kind. It seems obvious that he would prefer the Buffalo tempeh pizza to the more delicate pesto and fresh tomato, particularly since his body-building frenzy makes him obsessed with all things protein. The more protein, as far as C's concerned, the better. In fact, left to his own devices, he would out-protein the most meat-eating person, but would smell SO much better after doing it. Personally, I thought the Buffalo tempeh was really good. The only thing I would change is using more onions. I also think celery would be an interesting addition. If I make the pesto and fresh tomato pizza again, I would put the tomatoes on top to dry slightly during cooking. I would also add, perhaps, roasted garlic and black pepper. That would really put it over the edge.

The following recipes, however, indicate what I did rather than what I would do. Please note, both of the below instructions do not include information on preparing your pizza crust. I'm assuming that you have your pizza dough, divided and stretched into an appropriate shape, ready for topping. This is where we begin.

Buffalo Tempeh Pizza

1 pkg tempeh
1 T Bragg's
oil for frying
1/4 c Franks Red Hot (truly, nothing else will do)
2 T vegan sour cream
3 large shallots, sliced thinly
1/2 c barbecue sauce (I used the Backyard Barbecue Sauce recipe from Veganomicon.)
1 c cheddar style Daiya, food of the gods
1 prepared pizza base 

Prepare your toppings: Toss the sliced shallots with a small amount of olive oil and roast them in a 350 oven for 20 minutes or so. They should be tender and just beginning to brown when finished. Meanwhile, slice the tempeh lengthwise, and then cut those pieces in half. You would fairly short, thin pieces to work with. Transfer them to a frying pan and cover with water. Bring the tempeh to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour off any remaining water, add some oil to the pan, and fry until the pieces begin to brown. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, combine Franks and sour cream. Adjust with either to suit your taste. Add tempeh to the bowl and toss to coat.

Assemble your pizza: Spread barbecue sauce evenly over crust, leaving about an inch around the edges. Arrange tempeh slices on the sauce, then sprinkle with roasted shallots. Top with cheddar-style Daiya.

Pesto-Fresh Tomato Pizza

2 large roma tomatoes
1/3 c pesto, or more, depending on your taste and on the pesto
black pepper
1 c Italian-style Daiya

Spread the pesto on the pizza crust. If your pesto is homemade and really thick, like mine was, simply add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Layer with thinly sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with black pepper, and top with Daiya.

Bake pizzas in a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes.