Pizza With Watercress Pesto Cream & Mushrooms

For all the pizza fans out there – vegan or not vegan! This recipe will not disappoint. Considering going vegan, a lot of times people think they have to miss out on so many things, like pizza. There are tons of vegan cheeses out there that you can throw on a pizza.

This one comes without cheese though, instead, I used a super flavorful and rich pesto made of watercress. Topped with mushrooms, this pizza became my favorite one! Not to mention the crust made of spelt flour dough…SO GOOD and like always too easy NOT to be tried:).

Pizza With Watercress Pesto & Mushrooms

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 3 h

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

DOUGH:

355 g water, warm (not hot!)
2 tsp. coconut sugar
2 tsp. dry yeast
200 g whole spelt flour
200 g bread flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

WATERCRESS PESTO CREAM:

100 g cashews
1 garlic, peeled
5 g basil leaves
5 g watercress leaves
80 g coconut milk

ALSO:

220 g button mushrooms, finely sliced
4 tsp. extra olive oil
1 pinch of chili flakes
salt
pepper

Instructions

DOUGH: Place water, coconut sugar and yeast in a bowl and combine until yeast is dissolved. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes until foamy (that means the yeast is working already and feeding on the sugar – that’s what we want!).
Add spelt and bread flour, olive oil and salt into bowl and knead using a stand mixer with dough hooks attached or by hand for 5 minutes. Cover bowl and let sit for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size in a warm spot.
WATERCRESS PESTO CREAM: Add all ingredients into a food processor and process until creamy.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Tip the dough onto a greased working surface and divide into 4 pieces. If dough is too sticky, grease your hands with olive oil – do not add any extra flour! Using your hands carefully stretch each dough piece to 25×25 cm and place onto baking sheet.
ALSO: Spread 2 tablespoons of cashew cream on each pizza and distribute mushrooms on top.
Sprinkle with chili flakes and season with pepper and salt. Also Sprinkle with extra olive oil and let sit for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 285°C (550°F).
Bake pizzas for 10-13 min until golden brown.