A few years back, I managed to convince my Pampered Chef consultant and friend to do an all-vegan Pampered Chef party at our home. Very few of the Pampered Chef recipes are actually vegan in their original state, BUT we managed to fine some contenders. And, with only a few simple tweaks or omissions, we pulled off cruelty-free vegan goodness, and quite well, too.
Still to this day, one of my favorite recipes was the Mediterranean Hummus Pizza, which, as you can see, is a virtual rainbow of vegan fun! It’s fresh and delicious, especially if you are in the mood for pizza, but don’t want something really heavy.
The basic recipe that I follow is below, but there is room for great improvisation here, which makes it all the more fun:
1 half recipe of whole wheat pizza dough (Julie Hasson's from Vegan Pizza)
1 tablespoon olive oil, for brushing
1 garlic clove, pressed
oregano, salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
15 grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 baby cucumbers, halved and chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 container (7 ounces) plain hummus spread (roasted red pepper is great, too)
1/2 cup each diced bell pepper (I had yellow and green this time)
OR
2 jars (6-7.5 ounces each) quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained
*some swaps that work well too: roasted red peppers, tofu feta cheese, scallions, vegan tzatsiki, fresh basil for garnish
First we are going to bake the crust. Preheat a pizza stone in your oven at 425 for 30 minutes. I actually cook this crust at a little lower heat than my usual pizza with toppings.
Roll out you dough on some parchment paper into a 12" circle. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle on the garlic or powder, then some oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes I will add some crushed red pepper too!
Slide dough onto your stone and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven off the pizza stone and onto a cutting board. Spread the container of hummus evenly onto the crust. Then arrange the chopped vegetables on top. Cut into squares, (I like the square shape rather than wedges for this) and enjoy!
