“Pizza” with a Good Personality and a Kale, Quinoa and Chickpea Crust

Long time no post, I know.  It’s been a busy week, and this past weekend we were tubing down the Shenandoah and the closest thing to a recipe I could have shared with you woud have been a gin and tonic (1 part tonic, 2 parts gin, 1/4 lime, generous helping of ice), or perhaps a Frito burrito.  Actually, that’s not a bad idea for a guest column… Frito burritos are legit.

Anyways, as tired as I was last night, I sucked it up and tried something new.  For your sake.  This is an interesting dish… I’m hesitant to call it a pizza.  It’s kind of a combination of Baked Falafel Pie and Cauliflower Pizza Crust.  It’s very flavorful and the flavors go really, really well together.  I will warn that it’s a lot of work for what it is (a simple dinner for two).  It also doesn’t hold together as well as I’d like, which makes it not the ideal dish to serve to guests.  Okay I’ll say it: I’m a vain chef and it’s not a pretty dish.  Taste-wise, however, this gets very high marks.  Basically, she has a great personality.

Courtney’s had two critiques:

1) “It’s not really a pizza”  You have to be very careful what you name a dish when feeding my husband… once he hears the name he expects to get what he’s used to getting when he hears said name.  As much as he loves the chick pea burgers, a long debate over what constitutes a ‘burger’ ensued.  I argue that the patty form constitutes a burger, not the meat.

2) “How could you make it bigger?”

Chickpea, Quinoa and Kale “Pizza” topped with Roasted Cauliflower, Grape Tomatoes and Shell Fish

• 1 cup canned chickpeas
• 1/2 cup cooked Quinoa
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 2 Tablespoons organic oil of choice (I used 2 Tbsp virgin coconut)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• 1/2 -2/3 cup small cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup Trader Joes seafood blend
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• handful of kale
• Curry, cumin, salt and pepper

While crust is cooking, combine all sauce ingredients in a food processor.  Remove excess water.  Meanwhile, add cauliflower with spices and cook in a large skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add sea food blend and tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove crust from oven.  Cover with sauce and toppings and cook for another 30-40 minutes.