Raw Life Coaching

In part one of the Ultimate Raw Pizza I showed you how to make a delicious crust that is not only 100% raw, but also vegan and gluten free.   Now that we have this wonderful base to build our pizza, the next step is to layer on some mind blowing cheese and sauce.

First up the cheese!

The recipe we used for our pizza cheese is from the Stuffed Eggplant Manicotti recipe in Rene Underkoffler’s “Living Cuisine.”  We really like this book, as it is incredibly informative and well put together.   The recipes are also much more involved than most raw food cookbooks with many layers of flavor and  texture.. truly gourmet.   We highly recommend Rene’s book for both the beginner and the seasoned raw foodist alike.

Macadamia Nut Ricotta:

1 Cup Raw Macadamia nuts
1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1/4 Cup Raw Pine nuts
1/3 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon juice
1 Clove Garlic, minced
3 Tbls Nutritional Yeast
1 Tsp Himalayan Salt (to taste)
<1 Tsp Cold Pressed Olive Oil (just a drizzle)

Soak 3/4 cup of the macadamia nuts and all of the cashews together in approximately 3 cups fresh, filtered water for 20 minutes.    Drain and rinse.  In a food processor, chop the remaining 1/4 cup of dry macadamia nuts and all of the pine nuts into a fine meal.  Set this aside.

Chop the soaked macadamia nuts and cashews into a fine meal and add the lemon juice, garlic and drizzle of olive oil and blend until smooth.  Add a few tablespoons of filtered water to aid in blending smooth if needed.  You’ll want to get this mixture as smooth as possible while keeping it fairly thick.  Add the dry macadamia and pinenut mixture, along with the nutritional yeast and blend until mixed well.  Season with salt to taste.

NOTE: This makes enough cheese for one pizza.  If you plan on making two full sized pizzas and the optional parmesan cheese I recommend doubling the above recipe.

Raw Parmesan (Optional):

A neat trick that we discovered is that if you take a portion of the ricotta cheese and spread it out onto a non-stick sheet, then dehydrate over night, you’ll end up with a beautiful, tasty, crumbly parmesan to sprinkle over the top of the pizza, your salads, or anything else you happen to be eating.

On to the sauce!

This sauce is also from the Stuffed Eggplant Manicotti recipe in Rene Underkoffler’s “Living Cuisine.”   It is a delectable combination of sun-dried and fresh tomato blended with fresh basil into a explosion of flavor.   This is hands down my favorite raw tomato marinara yet, and coming from a Sicilian family that loves to cook, that’s saying a lot.    I recommend making the sauce a day or two ahead of time and letting it develop and meld flavors in the fridge.

Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Marinara:

1 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
6 Roma Tomatoes or 4 Large Tomatoes
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 Cup Red Onion, finely minced
1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
1/2 Cup Fresh Italian Parsley Leaves
Sprig of Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1 Tbls Raw Honey
1 Tsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1-2 Tsp Himalayan Sea Salt (to taste)
1/2 Tsp Chipotle or Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in approximately 1 Cup fresh water for 10-15 minutes or until soft.  Drain and rinse, then set aside.   Cut the tops off of the fresh tomatoes, cut in half, then scoop out the seeds.  Dice the tomatoes and set aside.

In a food processor finely chop the garlic, red onion and herbs.   Add the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, honey, and lemon juice and pulse to chop leaving the mixture with some texture.  Do not over blend.

In a bowl fold together the sun-dried tomato mixture with the diced tomatoes.   Season with Himalayan sea salt and the chipotle or cayenne if desired.   Viola!  A beautiful, delicious tomato basil sauce to top our Ultimate Raw Pizza.    Place the sauce in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to meld together.

Next up, Ultimate Raw Pizza – Part III:  Toppings and Bringing it Together …