Almost Kinda Sorta Pizza Margherita with Oil-Free Plant Based Mozzarella Cheeze

I wish to first offer a little history on Pizza Margherita then I’ll get down to the business of sharing my Whole Foods, Plant Based almost kinda sorta version including a WFPB no oils compliant cheeze.

An often recounted story holds that on 11 June 1889, to honour the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, the Neapolitan pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito created the Pizza Margherita, a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colours of Italy as on the Italian flag.

Video for Almost Kinda Sorta Pizza Margherita with Oil-Free Plant Based Mozzarella Cheeze:

The legend of pizza Margherita is considered a false history, as a pizza made with the same toppings was already present in Naples between 1796 and 1810, although it probably was not called “Margherita”. In 1830, in the book Napoli, contorni e dintorni, written by Riccio, it was described as a pizza with tomato, mozzarella and basil.  In 1849 Emanuele Rocco recorded different pizza toppings like basil, tomatoes and thin slices of mozzarella; the mozzarella was thinly sliced, and arranged with a flower-shape over the tomato sauce, along with the basil leaves: this may be the real origin of the name Margherita . So. it’s anyone’s guess where it came from.

However, the Italians take their pizza seriously. There are rules as to what you may officially call a Pizza Marherita. My almost kinda sorta  version is far from the original. There are official organisations with a set of codified rules, orally transmitted by neapolitan’s generation of pizzamaker, passed down from father to son. Here are the  regulations  on what a true  Neopolitan Pizza Margherita is.

Below is a photo of a true  Neopolitan Pizza Margherita

In 1984 Antonio Pace and Lello Surace reunited the most important and famous pizzamaker of the time to write down the fundamental rules in order to recognize and differentiate the True Neapolitan Pizza and Pizza Margherita from the other types of pizzas, giving them the maximum dignity. Since then, the International Regulation has been the heart of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which protect the tradition of the old recipes and spread its secrets, defending its uniqueness and peculiarity.

To keep this pizza WFPB no oil compliant I’m using whole wheat flour and I’ll use my  moxerella cheeze  using nutritional yeast and silken tofu. 2 secrets to making the cheeze worthy of being put on a pizza is using tapioca starch and xanthan gum to make the cheese nice and gooey. 

My job is to show how you can make a WFPB compliant, almost kinda sorta Pizza Margherita without olive oil or dairy. I know it wouldn’t pass muster in Italy BUT… Bonus points.. It’s delicious my way. I hereby declare victory.

Check out the video above and look at  the recipe at the bottom of the page. You will love it and start growing your own basil to cover your new found passion.

A quick comparison to the original Pizza Magherita will show the below differences between my recipe an the Italian original:

• use of whole wheat flour
• no salt in crust
• no kneading dough
• no proofing / resting
• addition of oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper to sauce
• no olive oil
• no mozzarella cheese
• crust will be thicker and less air in crust
• more sauce

You can adjust away to your heart’s content. My goal is to make a quick and delicious pizza without a lot of fuss. I offer this as a splurge meal if served a single pizza with some wine or share and have a big salad to accompany your pizza for a lighter meal.

Ciao,

Eugene

Links for hard to find items:

• Silken Tofu
• Jaggery
• Miso Paste
• Tapioca Starch
• Xanthan Gum
• Nutritional Yeast
• San Marzano Tomatoes
• Genovese Basil Seeds
• Balsamic Vinegar

Click below to buy Silken Tofu

 

Below are some links to specialty items used in this recipe:

• Due Vittorie Oro Gold Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
• Nutritional Yeast
• Silken Tofu
• Genovese Basil Seeds
• Miso Paste
• Tapioca Starch / Flour
• Xanthan Gum