Chef Jorge Dishes out a Veggie Pizza Recipe

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I can't believe it's vegetarian. This is my first of many vegetarian dishes I have made over time-- I even have a few tasty vegan dishes, but that will come in due time. This week I was in the mood for one of my all time favorites: pizza!

What I love about pizza, is not only that it is a combination of everything that makes you smile after your first bite, but there is also endless possibilities of what you can do with it. Sometimes I feel like Bubba talking about shrimp when it comes to me and making homemade pizzas. To be honest, I do know a recipe that uses shrimp on pizza, but that is another recipe for another time.

So today's recipe is simple, and you can make it on the fly or make of it with the family. Though a homemade pizza piecrust is great, I am realistic with time restrains; so for this recipe, I went to the International Bakery on 18^th Street and bought a shell. They are made fresh and are great. I was also in a mood for something a little lighter, so instead of using a red sauce, I made it with a seasoned olive oil, and to make it vegetarian, I used ground Boca instead of meat. Of course, like I always say, my recipes are just guides; you can always tweak it to your own taste.

INGREDIENTS

12-inchPizza Crust

3 Tbs   Olive Oil

1 Tbs   Italian Seasonings

1 Tbs   Crushed Red Pepper

2 Tbs   Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cup  Diced Tomato

¼ CupDiced Onion

1 Cup  Spinach

2 Cup  Ground Boca

12 oz   Mozzarella

3 oz     Smoked Cheddar

RECIPE

First thing first, we turn on the oven to 400 degrees.

To add a little more flavor to the pizza, I took a sauté pan, drizzled a little bit of olive oil-- not what we have measured out-- and sautéed our vegetables. We are not really cooking them; we are just moistening them so they don't shrivel when we bake them.

Add the Boca to the sauté, and to this, add our Worcestershire Sauce (Boca is already cooked so we are just doing this to mix all the flavors, not really cooking it. Take note that Worcestershire sauce is part anchovies, so using this technically makes the recipe pesco-vegetarian).

Now place this to the side and let it cool.

Take our dry herbs and our measured olive oil and mix it in a small bowl. Now we are going to lightly brush our mixture over the crust—remember, it is perfectly fine if we cover the crust too.

At this point, we are going to sprinkle half of our cheese over the crust, then our sauté, and then the rest of our cheese.

Place our pizza pie right into the oven and let it bake for about 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is all melted.

A friendly reminder: don't burn your mouth with the cheese, and like always, Buen Provecho!