Vegetarian

I’ll be honest. It has been quite awhile since I cooked anything new or exciting. First I was away in New Jersey and then I was eating loads of pasta and other carbs plus lots of kale smoothies, prepping for the Boston Marathon. Once the marathon was over, I had almost no appetite, and when I did, I was starving and eating pretzels, chips, pudding, and other snacks or takeout.

After a week of that, I not only started to get bored with my eating, but I also realized that without the training, I need to adjust the way I eat. I am also going to be in and out of a new office for awhile, so eating real meals and planning is going to be key.

On Monday night, I decided to get back in the kitchen with a new ingredient I picked up at Trader Joe’s, Just Almond Meal. My original plan was to add it to yogurt for an extra boost of protein, and I did that for breakfast. After spending some time googling, I also decided to make a pizza crust.

Pizza crust made with almond meal is gluten free and has a nice amount of protein. Making the crust is easy, just 2 cups of almond meal, 3 eggs, a few drops of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. I added some garlic powder for seasoning, mixed it all up, and then formed it into a pizza on an oiled pizza pan.

To dry the dough out, I baked it for about 6 minutes in a 425 degree oven. The recommended temperature is 350, but I was roasting perfect Brussels sprouts at the time too.

While the dough got nice and dry for the toppings, I chopped leeks and melted them down in some nice brown butter. I also made a quick pizza sauce with canned plum tomatoes with basil, salt, and a pinch of sugar.

When the dough was dry, I topped it with the sauce, goat cheese, and leeks. I cooked it for about 15 minutes, until it was brown at the edges and the cheese was melted.

I served the pizza with roasted Brussels sprouts that had been drizzled with honey. I was trying to recreate the Russell House Tavern sprouts. Mine were good, but not that good.

The pizza? It was delicious. It definitely had a hefty crust that filled me up quickly, but I really enjoyed how buttery it was and how easy it was to make. The toppings were perfect. You can’t go wrong with leeks and goat cheese! I didn’t tell my husband about the crust until he finished and was raving about the pizza. We were both pleasantly surprised at how good this nutrient-rich option was. I’ll definitely be using almond meal to make crust and other baked goods in the future. But don’t worry, I am not going all Paleo on you, just mixing things up a bit.

Have you tried any new-to-you ingredients or cooking methods lately?