The Deluxe Pizza Pie (Vegetable Version 2.0)

I got home late from work the other night with the hugest craving for pizza pie. I was simultaneously fighting my constant craving for that gut scraping, miraculous, leafy green vegetable: kale.

Have I talked to you about my Kale relationship? It's become pretty serious over the last few months. I really got turned onto it by my friend Thea, who always came back from Capers sucking her lips over the kale salad with garlic dressing from the salad bar.

I tried it once and I was completely hooked. I eat it almost every day these days. I like it in all its forms: red, green, black, raw, steamed, stir-fried, baked until perfect crispy... It makes me a different person. There's an almost instantaneous jolt of energy that comes from eating super green foods. It's a clean feeling of satisfaction, without the lethargy or sluggishness that can sometimes accompany a meal.

Anyways...I got home from work and I was ravenous. I wanted the thickest slice of pizza I could imagine. So I went to the grocery store, picked up a frozen, whole wheat pizza crust and then closed my eyes and thought of all my favourite pizzas. The buttercup squash pizza from the bison mountain bistro with Sylvan Star Gouda cheese, chili peppers, and fresh chevre, definitely deserves mention. Same goes for the shrimp pizza that I used to order as a kid at the California Pizza Company. I was feeling inspired.

I bought a yam, a red onion, some portabello mushrooms, a green pepper and kale. I had some leftover bruschetta from the day before, so I just heated it up in a non-stick pan and let it reduce into pizza sauce consistency.

I sliced the yam into thin slices after peeling it, and then drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit of cumin. I roasted them in the oven for about 20 minutes until they were almost cooked through.

I sliced the red onion up nice and thin, and sautéed in a pan with a splash of olive oil and a small knob of butter on medium high heat for about five minutes, just to develop a bit of colour. Then I turned the heat down to medium, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked them for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized. About halfway through the cooking, I added a generous spoonful of brown sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

I gave the mushrooms a slice and tossed them into a hot, oiled pan, salted them, seasoned with a bit of crushed rosemary and cooked them down until they were soft and tender, about 8 minutes.

I chopped up some left over shrimp from the night before, crumbled some feta, sliced the green peppers, minced garlic, chopped olives and tore up my beloved kale.

The order of exquisite layers went as follows:

1. Crust
2. Sauce
3. Caramelized onions
4. Roasted yams
5. Portabello mushrooms
6. Chopped cooked shrimp
7. Fresh minced garlic
8. olives
9. Green peppers
10. A light dusting of red star nutritional yeast (weird, I know, but gives it a delicious cheesy taste without the dairy)
12. Lightly sautéed kale
13. Torn fresh basil
14. Crumbled Feta cheese.

I put it right on the oven rack at 375˚ for about fifteen minutes.

I know it sounds involved. It wasn't difficult, this I assure you. Trust me, the layers...the layers are worth it.

The best, guilt-free pizza. It was even good cold, for breakfast the next morning.
Now that's a 'za!