Pesto Balsamic Mushroom and Caramelised Onion Pizza

First meal of the New Year and why not pizza! There's so many options for gluten free bases, I've used flaxmeal with veggies, cauliflower, pre bought and this time almond meal. The result of the one is a crisp and crunchy thin base which goes well with the marinated soft toppings. I used the leftover nacho cheese from the Philly Cheesesteak I made the night before and had enough onions left to put into some soup for the evening. Finished off the afternoon with the new Star Wars so all in all, pretty great start to the year!

Pesto Balsamic Mushroom and Caramelised Onion Pizza


Pizza Base
1 1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup flaxmeal
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 TBS Italian herb
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Balsamic Mushrooms
4 large mushrooms
3 TBS olive oil
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano

Caramelised Onion
​1 large onion
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 TBS coconut sugar
1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Pesto
2 cup packed basil
1/4 cup pinenuts
3 TBS olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
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Vegan Spicy Nacho Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 175˚C. With this pizza I start by marinating the mushrooms as it takes around 2 hrs for the balsamic to soak in. Slice the mushrooms thinly lengthways, then in a flat dish combine the marinate sauce and make sure the mushrooms are covered well

2. Slice the onions long ways into thin strips

2. Heat the oil in a large frypan, spread the onions in the pan and heat for a min

3. Add in the salt, vinegar and sugar and cook over low heat for 15 - 20 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning

4. Now start on the pizza base. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender ( I always use my thermomix) and process until it's all mixed in together. If you use a blender put it on high for a few seconds to break up the basil leaves then use the blade on reverse so mix the dough

5. Roll the dough out on a baking sheet or foil, and roll into a flat base about 1/4 inch thick. I did a square one just because it ended up being easier. Because of the consistency do it slowly and if you need to pinch the sides in with you fingers. It will cook and get crispy by the end but it will be quite crumbly to start 

6. Put into the oven for 15 mins, in that time make the pesto

7. Combine all the ingredients for the pesto and blend on high for several minutes until it's all combined. It won't be completely smooth which is fine
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8. You can always leave out the cheese, but if you want that extra topping then you can start the cheese process now and then add it at the end. The sweet potato just needs around 15 mins to cook

​8. Once the pizza base is done, you can start the layering. As the base is not huge I like doing 2 layers, this adds a lot more flavour into the pizza. Start by spread all the pesto onto the base, then spread the onions over the top. I didn't end up using all the onions in the end. The add half the mushrooms on top and gently push down. Repeat the process. Put into the oven for a further 10 - 15 mins

9. Once the pizza is done, take out and add the nacho cheese on top. I added this particular cheese as I had some leftover from making a Philly cheesesteak. But you can use any vegan cheese you like, even scatter nutritional yeast is a great cheese alternative


* It seems like a lot of steps but it only took around 1 1/2 hours to do the whole thing, do it all step by step and it makes it easy. You can halve the onion ingredients to cover the pizza but I quite like caramelised onions so I always use 2, that way any left overs I can use for soups or salads


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