Lentil Crust Super Pizza

Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Low Fat 

This recipe was inspired by the Gluten-Free Lentil Rice Crust Pizza with Buffalo Mayo Sauce and the Cauliflower Pepita Chia Crust with Herbed White Beans, Peppers and Onions over at VeganRicha.com. She has an AWESOME vegan cooking website with a whole bunch of really creative gluten-free pizza ideas! I really love her recipes/website so look over there for inspiration too! I initially tried to make the Lentil Pizza, but since I didn't have yeast I tweaked it and used the chia and flax seeds and a few spices from the Cauliflower Pizza recipe. 

Health Benefits of Lentils: 

• Excellent Source of Protein! - 26% attributed to protein, making it a great plant source of protein
• Great source of Fiber - helping provide slow-burning energy, stabilizing blood sugar and assisting digestive health. While they are low in calories the high fiber content makes them very satiating
• Great source of Magnesium
• Great source of Iron 
• Great source of Folate (aka Folic Acid or Vitamin B9)- all very important minerals for the body!
• Lowers Cholesterol
• Cheap - (lol, but true!) a bag of dry lentils only costs about $1 even in the uber expensive state of Hawaii. ;)

Basically, lentils offer a powerhouse of nutrition, so if you haven't had them yet try them now!!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 and 1/3 cup Lentils(dry uncooked, soaked overnight)

3 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp flaxmeal

1/2 cup water

3/4 tsp italian herb blend
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup water

Cashew Cheese: 
1 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
¼ cup filtered water
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. raw apple cider vinegar
(inspired by the recipe here)

Toppings: 
Organic Marinara Sauce*
Cashew Cheese 
Veggies
Basil
whatever you want! :)


Steps: 
- Soak the Lentils and Cashews in water and leave for 4 hrs or overnight. (There is nothing special about the 4 hr mark, but you want to be sure they are soaked through enough and will be ready for blending. 

Cashew Cheese: 
- Blend the Cashews and other ingredients together. Adjust spices according to taste, then set in the fridge until topping on the pizza.

Crust: 
- Stir the Chia Seeds, Flaxseed meal, and first 1/2 cup of water together and leave in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This mixture will form a gel-like consistency and will hopefully make the crust rise. 

- Blend the Lentils, spices, baking powder, and second 1/2 cup water together in a good blender. Then blend in the chia/flax mixture. 

- Once everything is blended and you've adjusted the spice to your liking, spoon out the Lentil Pizza Dough onto parchment paper (sprayed with coconut oil) at whatever size and thickness you'd like. The thicker they are the longer it will need to cook. 

- Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and cooked through. 

Pizza Time!
- Once the crust is cooked through, add on any toppings you would like!
You can go traditional with marinara, cheese, fresh tomatoes and basil, or go crazy with lots of fun veggies! I added zucchini, red pepper, and Kenny tried to make a Thai Peanut pizza (inspired by his favorite kind at the California Pizza Kitchen) using our Thai peanut sauce as the base then adding veggies on top. 
Tip: If using fresh basil or herbs you may want to add it last or after the other veggies cook. I added the basil with everything else, and the got really crisp and almost burnt after the 10 minutes ...

- Bake for about 10 more minutes, or until the veggies are cooked through to your liking. 
Once the toppings are cooked enough, take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then Serve!


[I baked the dough on regular parchment paper, and I had a hard time getting the pizzas off the paper! Maybe it was just defective parchment paper, or maybe I should have greased it beforehand - either way it's probably safer to spray with coconut oil beforehand so they don't stick!]

 * (watch the sugar content on these store-bought sauces though - even tomato sauces or "healthy" looking brands can actually be packed with sugar, and whatever you do, stay away from high fructose corn syrup!!! Safer to just make if yourself, but I was short on time)


Resources: 
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-eating-lentils-4547.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5488/7-Health-Benefits-of-Lentils.html
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=52