Brick Oven Pizza

It was a hot Sunday afternoon and we had planned it for weeks, firing up the outdoor brick-oven. There is just something about cooking outdoors, whether it is a gas BBQ or under the stars at a campsite, the food just tastes good. Although, this was special.

Our friends in Santa Rosa, Lyrae and Paul, have their very own Italian-style brick oven. They cook all kinds of foods in it, from brisket to potatoes, but specifically pizza. This last weekend Jennifer and I had the pleasure of throwing a pizza in this very hot oven.

Before leaving the house, I sauteed some veggies up for the topping, threw together a very simple marinara, and picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Pizza mix. About an hour before we arrived, Paul started heating the oven with a very small fire. Oh yes, this is a real brick oven, no gas here! Using hardwood kindling, he started with a relatively small fire and as it grew he added a couple of standard sized logs towards the back, a little off of center. As the oven began to heat, he moved the charcoal from one side to the other, to help distribute the heat. Monitoring the internal heat with a electric thermometer

, he notified me when it had reached temp....... over 650 degrees.

I mixed the dough, according to Bob's instructions, substituting ground flax for the egg, and then began pressing the dough out, by hand, on a well GF floured peel. I then, added my marinara and toppings, and slid it into the oven. With Paul monitoring and turning the pie 90 degrees about twice, this pizza was finished in less than 7 minutes.

My friends........... this was the Best Pizza we have ever had. The crust was crisp on the bottom and a little chewy in the middle. Gluten-free, vegan, brick-oven pizza, man, doesn't that sound good! Gimme more, please.

Simple Marinara

olive oil

1 small yellow onion, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 Cup red wine, optional

15 oz. can diced tomato

2 T nutritional yeast

1 T Italian seasoning

1. In a sauce pan, heat oil at medium and add onion. Saute until tender, then add garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add wine and reduce for 2 minutes and then add tomatoes. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. In a food processor, blend until smooth. Stir in nutritional yeast and Italian seasoning.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

Thank you, Lyrae and Paul for the great afternoon. We will definitely be coming over again soon! How about some naan?

Enjoy.

Vegan Chef Period.