Mushroom and chargrilled vegetable pizza

When my children were small I always liked to make sure they were eating a balanced diet. This pizza was one of my daughter’s favourites to eat and one of my favourites to prepare because I knew they were getting a healthy meal.

This lovely Mediterranean-style pizza takes about an hour to prepare and serve. It will comfortably serve a family of 4.

Ingredients

1 small eggplant, sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced
120g mushrooms, sliced
Olive oil
Hummus (home made or Obela brand roast pinenut is perfect for this dish)
1 punnet of snow-pea shoots, rinsed
Vegan bococcini or mozzarella-style cheese, sliced
(available Cruelty Free Shops)
Vegan mayonnaise or tartare sauce
1 pizza base
(You can make your own or buy one, I use Bazaar pizza bases – they’re thin and crusty)

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius

Lay eggplant slices out on a chopping board.
Salt the eggplant and leave a few minutes then dab with absorbent paper to remove moisture. This extracts any bitterness from the eggplant.
Turn the slices over and repeat.

Rub eggplant and zucchini with oil, then grill on a hot plate or barbeque. (Shallow fry if more convenient.)

Put your pizza base on a pizza stone or aerated tray.
Liberally spread with hummus.
Cover with half the cheese slices.
Arrange the eggplant and zucchini in a circular pattern over the base.
Place the rest of the cheese over the eggplant and zucchini.
Cover with mushrooms.

Bake for 15 minutes on 180 celsius.
Then turn up the temperature to 220 celsius for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the base has turned nut brown.

Serve with fresh snow-pea shoots and dollops of mayonnaise or tartare sauce.