Homemade whole wheat pizza with veggie topping

Diabetes changes the way you see this world. Its like you are seeing everything with a "diabetic lens". I would have never ever thought about a pizza without cheese before Viswa got diagnosed with diabetes. But we really didn't miss it with this pizza. When you take out the cheese you really get to taste the real goodness of the veggies.



I proposed my love for portobello mushrooms sometime back :) Here it comes again, with butternut squash and red capsicum. I have not cooked with this squash as I thought that it will have a higher glycemic index because of its slight sweetness. Maybe I was wrong. Check out the Nutrition Data of butternut squash. If you are not encouraged to eat it by looking at the squash, just read the long list of nutrients it contains.

Ingredients

For pizza base
2 cups whole wheat flour + a little bit more for dusting
1 x 7 g sachet of dry yeast
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup warm water

For pizza sauce
1 ½ cup of tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper (or less if you don't like it spicy)
4 tbsp of roasted garlic (If you don't have roasted garlic use 3 tbsp finely chopped garlic)
1 tsp of salt

For topping
½ cup of diced butternut squash
½ cup of red capsicum cut into small strips
½ cup of portobello mushrooms, diced
Italian seasoning mix for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180° or 160°fan. Spray a baking tray with lite cooking spray.

Pizza base
Proofing the yeast: Add yeast to warm water and let it sit for 10 mins. The yeast is alive if foam forms on the surface. I like watching it as bubbles come one by one to the top :). I was apprehensive when I first used yeast. But it is not that difficult.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with oil and yeast until it forms a sticky dough. Knead the dough on a slightly floured surface until it becomes soft and pliable. Spray oil at the bottom of a bowl or slightly grease a bowl and place the dough on the bowl. Cover the dough with a cling wrap and leave in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Remove the dough from bowl and knead it once again for 1 minute. It should be a lot softer than chappati dough. So don't apply all your strength; just knead it gently. Again let it rest in a warm spot for another 30 mins.

Sauce
Add olive oil to saucepan. Add roasted garlic/chopped garlic, whichever you are using. Saute it for a few mins. Then add tomato paste, chilli powder, black pepper and adjust salt. Add a cup of water and simmer for a few mins until the sauce has thickened and changed in color slightly. Another variation can be adding hot chilli sauce and cutting back the chilli powder and salt.

To assemble
Make two big balls out of the dough. Roll out each to desired size. If you are finding it difficult to roll out, just place it on the baking tray and press it to the desired shape(a rustic pizza ;) ). Apply the sauce liberally on the base and add the toppings.



Bake in the oven for 30-45 mins or till the edges of the pizza becomes golden brown. Serve hot garnished with the seasoning.