food to glow

Smoky Brussels sprouts and mushrooms wholemeal pizza with an instant garlic-herb sauce to drizzle or dip. Delicious with or without cheese.

Despite being quite evangelical when it comes to home-cooking, a girl needs a break sometimes. While my preference is to go out (Edinburgh has fantastic restaurants these days), sometimes we really can’t be bothered making the effort. So, in order not to eat scrambled eggs or porridge for dinner, occasionally we will have a rummage through our tattered folder of takeaway menus. I always feel slightly guilty yet excited at the prospect of a plastic bag of plastic containers coming into the house, filled with an array of dishes I have had nothing to do with other than order. It doesn’t happen too often, so I don’t feel too badly about it.

One thing we don’t have is a pizza menu. Not because we don’t like pizza though – we love it. It’s because, with very few exceptions, takeaway pizza is rubbish. I know there are innovations to keep pizza fresh in transit, but even the best pizza is often ruined by steaming in a box. I had that happen recently and it was such a disappointment. The would-be delicious sourdough crust was chewy and flabby.

The holy grail of pizza for many of us is probably a light and airy sourdough crust, slightly crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside, with only a veil of toppings. I hope to develop my own sourdough recipe in time, but for now I use either my own wholemeal pizza dough recipe, or I buy wholemeal dough in the freezer section at Waitrose.

For today’s recipe I used defrosted bought dough, found while clearing out the freezer in an attempt at spring cleaning ( yeah, a bit early). And although it is good and bubbles up nicely in the heat, there’s nothing like a blistered white sourdough crust. I’ll work on my sourdough though, and share it with you. The good thing about wholemeal is that because it is a bit hefty it can take some substantial toppings without tipping into your lap. That’s the goal anyway.

What’s on the pizza?

The toppings are inspired by a still-edible thick stalk of Brussels sprouts I have kept in the garage since Christmas. I know it sounds crazy, but because our garage is so cold the little green brassica baubles are still perky and fresh. I’m not sure why I looked at the Brussels sprouts and though “pizza” but I did. And I’m so glad I did because my daughter Rachel said, “this is better than the same kind of pizza I had in Chicago.” Yeah, Chicago. Woo hoo!

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And I thought these wintry-fresh sprouts would go well with not only sauteed mushrooms, but also with a touch of maple syrup and Liquid Smoke. But just a touch. They end result gives only the tiniest hint of smoky-sweetness, really just accentuating what happens with Brussels sprouts when you roast them anyway. The addition of a garlic and parsley (or basil if you wish) dipping sauce is not essential, but we all really liked it. I would definitely say to whizz some up – it’s made in about 5 seconds – if you aren’t having the mozzarella.

Am I getting you hungry? If so, put away the takeaway menus for now and read on. Or place that order and plan to make this tomorrow. You won’t regret it.

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Other Pizzas on Food To Glow

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Cauliflower & Almond Crust Pizza with Fresh Sauce and Greens

Eggplant & Double Greens Pizza

Lentil Skillet Pizza (love this!)

Prawn, Pepper and Parsley Pesto Pizza

Roasted Mushroom Flatbread Pizza

Turkish Flatbread Pizza

Pizza is a wonderful canvas. What’s your favourite kind of pizza? Thick or thin? Loads of interesting toppings or just a few? And what are your favourite toppings?

**Remember to follow me on Pinterest and, if you make my Smoky Brussels Sprout Pizza, click on the pin below the recipe card and leave a photo of your make with a comment telling me what you think, or any awesome changes that you made. Similarly, any Instagram posts tagged @food_to_glow using my recipes will go on my Story if I see them. I’m always so proud when you share my recipes with the world. Yay!!!

Whether on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or of course here on the blog, I love to see what you do with my recipes, and I welcome your comments, star ratings, tweaks and suggestions.**

PS. Thank you to all who have been sharing their Sri Lankan Cabbage and Cashew Curry photos on social media. I am a bit overwhelmed by the reception of this rather oddball recipe. I guess there is a lot of love for the humble cabbage. That makes this cancer health educator very very happy. 🙂

5 from 4 votes

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Smoky Brussels Sprout Pizza with Herb-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Umami-rich Brussels sprouts and mushrooms wholemeal pizza with an instant garlic-herb sauce to drizzle or dip. Delicious with or without cheese.

Course DInner

Cuisine American

Keyword Brussels sprouts, high fiber, pizza, vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Servings 2 people

Calories 575 kcal

Author kellie anderson

Ingredients

• 400 g Brussels sprouts washed and trimmed
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 150 g mushrooms brush or wipe
• 125 g mozzarella drained and patted dry
• 225 g wholemeal pizza dough if frozen, defrost first
• 1 tbsp cornmeal/polenta or flour

Garlic-Herb Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful parsley or basil washed
• 1 handful grated hard Italian-style cheese
• 1 tsp Liquid Smoke or smoked paprika
• 1 tsp maple syrup optional, but recommended

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 225C/450F. Put the oven shelf in the middle.

2. To prepare the Brussels sprouts, hold one in your hand, and with your other hand use a paring knife to cut just through the base of one leaf. Remove the leaf by nudging it with the cutting side of the knife. Carry on with as many as you can on that sprout, then lay the remaining bit on a chopping board to very thinly slice. It sounds fiddly, but I promise once you get in the rhythm of it you will find it easy and efficient. Pop into a bowl.

3. Heat the oil in a wide saute pan over a medium flame. Slice the mushrooms and add them to the hot oil. Cook them until they "give up" their liquid, stirring frequently. When the liquid is almost evaporated, add the Brussels sprouts. Toss around to coat then add the Liquid Smoke or smoked paprika and the maple syrup; stir to coat. Remove from the heat.

4. Sprinkle the corn meal on your countertop and roll your dough to make a roughly 12-inch circle/oval. It will be quite thin. You may want to do this on a piece of baking parchment. Lay the pizza on a cornmeal-sprinkled baking tray. I like to sprinkle on a little more at this time, too.

5. Evenly lay the sprout and mushroom mixture over the dough. Tear the mozzarella over (you may not use it all). Place in the hot oven and bake for about 8 minutes. More or less, depending on how "fast" your oven is and how browned you wish the pizza to be.

6. While the pizza is baking, prepare the sauce by placing everything in a mini food processor and blending until mostly smooth. Taste and adjust with salt if desired.

7. Remove the pizza from the oven and sprinkle with grated hard Italian cheese if you like. Serve with the garlic-herb sauce, either drizzling over (my preferred way) or in a pot to dip from.

Recipe Notes

 

The nutrition information is based on consuming 1 tsp of sauce per person.

 

For the cheese, I like to use the wet balls in liquid and drain them. You can of course use the dry, shredded kind. Or none at all.

 

If you are making your own dough, you will probably have about 550g of dough to play with, so increase the topping amounts and make two pizzas. 

 

You will have more garlic-herb sauce than you need so save some for salad dressing. It is FAB in a grain salad.

Nutrition Facts

Smoky Brussels Sprout Pizza with Herb-Garlic Dipping Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 575 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Cholesterol 49mg16%

Sodium 925mg40%

Potassium 1064mg30%

Carbohydrates 75g25%

Fiber 12g50%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 31g62%

Calcium 400mg40%

Vitamin C 171.6mg208%

Vitamin A 1930IU39%

Iron 3.6mg20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

RIPE FOR PINNING!