In between sunset deck yoga sessions and pool lounging, I'll often be found in the kitchen, preparing daily brunch and dinners for retreat guests. With as many people who walk through the doors of any Azul retreat, all have particular eating habits, allergies and preferences. In their week with us, they are invited to eat a whole-foods, plant-based vegetarian diet; a mixture of recipes from resident chef, Jo Dombernowski, in Fuerteventura, and myself.
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| Top deck view at sunset from Vista Villa Azul, November 2014 |
Every so often, a week in the kitchen will be challenged by further dietary needs and allergies; this past week, that meant eliminating gluten and dairy, in addition to being a vegetarian plant-based retreat. Everything is made from scratch, with care, and with a focus on sustainable organic sourcing.
I know heaps of vegetarians that rely on dairy to get protein, myself included. I love a great cheese, and regularly eat whole milk yogurt. I love creaminess in recipes, yet try not to consume too much dairy, as it is an inflammatory for our bodies. This week, I turned to alternate sources for flavor and texture. A cashew cream frosting for carrot cake, a toasted nut base for pesto. After eating like this for a week, I felt on top of the world. That's the healing power of whole foods. The sand and surf didn't hurt either.
I want to share this delectable world of whole foods with you, so in the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting what I call a Retreat Recipes Special Collection. These are recipes of my own creation or adaptation. If you're interested in more recipes like this, you can check out Jo's cookbook, straight from the kitchen of Azul in Fuerteventura.
To kick off this foodie fest, I have a spectacular veggie pizza for you. This is veg from top to bottom. A crust of roasted butternut squash and almond meal, topped with a vegan pesto, red onion, zucchini, kalamata olives, and arugula. This is seriously the bomb. It was raved about over the table last week and was dubbed 'the best pizza I've ever had in my life' by one of our guests!
Incredible Vegetable Pizza serves 4-6 Adapted from Wholehearted Eats
pesto, kalamata, zucchini, arugula
Crust
- 1 butternut squash (2-3 cups squash puree)
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Pesto
- 1 large bunch basil (1 cup loosely packed)
- 1 cup spinach, loosely packed
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- sea salt to taste
Toppings
- 1 zucchini
- 1 small red onion
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives
- 2 handfuls arugula
method
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve butternut squash and place cut side down in a baking dish filled halfway with water. Bake for 35-40 min until skin can be easily pierced by a fork. Remove from oven and let cool.Meanwhile, make pesto by combining all pesto ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth, add sea salt to taste. Set aside.
Once squash has cooled, scoop out flesh into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining crust ingredients. and mix until smooth. Depending how much squash you ended up with, you may need to add more flour to create a thicker dough. You want it to be soft, but able to form a loose ball.
Use your hands to press the dough into lined baking tray, creating a little lip at the edges. What's great about this dough is that you can pick it up and eat it like any other pizza. None of that crumbly cauliflower crap here!
Bake the crust for 30-35 min until it's golden brown. Remove from over, let cool slightly. Spread on pesto, and all of your toppings. note: I like to toss my zucchini and onion in a little olive oil so that they crisp up nicely in the oven. Keep arugula on the side for now. Bake pizza for another 15-20 min until vegetables begin to caramelize. Remove from oven, let cool for 5-7 minutes, then top with arugula.
enjoy!
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