In our special cook book A Taste of Utica on page 117, there is unique recipe for pizza. This pizza is LOADED with all sorts of goodness and flavor. It screams healthy, fulfilling, and taste-terrific food.
Posted by Jo Giacovelli…”I sat down with Tom and here is the recipe for Lentil Pizza as he told it to me.”
*Note: I believe there is a misprint in the book regarding the flour quantity for the 16” pizza crust. I changed the white flour quantity from 1 cup to 2 cups because, given the amount of water used, 3 PLUS cups of flour made more sense.
Tommy’s Lentil Pizza – a 16” pizza
Dough (use this recipe or buy 1 1/2 lb from the store)
- 1 1/8 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 TBS olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 TBS honey
- 2 tsp yeast
Make the dough: Using a bread machine, add all ingredients and set on dough setting. Allow dough to rise. When ready to use, remove from the machine, punch down and allow to rise another 10 – 20 minutes (double in size).
The Lentil Topping *You will have some lentil topping left over for use on other great recipes of your choice because 1 lb of lentils makes A LOT and you won’t want to put them all on your pizza. It will be too heavy.
- 5 cups water or chicken broth (I used Vegetable broth)*If using water only, add 3 chicken and 2 beef bouillon cubes.
- 1 lb lentils (washed)
- 1/4 cup barley (I used organic pearl barley)
- 2 to 3 bouillon cubes (again, I used Vegetable)
- 2 large cloves garlic (I used 2 tsp minced)
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning (I used 1 tsp Old Bay)
- 2 –3 TBS olive oil
- 1/4 cup pastine (Uncooked) *Pastine is a pasta. It is Italian for “little pasta” and comes in several shapes of small sized pasta. It is very often used in soups.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 TBS Pecorino Romano cheese
Cooking the lentil topping: Bring the first 7 ingredients to a boil (water to olive oil). Reduce to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, add the salt and uncooked pastine and cook another 10 minutes. Stir in 2 TBS of Pecorino Romano cheese.
Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 305 F. Press the dough into a 16” pizza sheet. Make the crust thick. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Spread the room temperature lentil topping onto crust. This topping should be dry not runny. DO NOT TURN OFF OVEN!
The Final PIZZA Topping – goes on top of the lentil topping
- 8 – 10 pickled cherry peppers cut into quarters (I used slices)
- 10 – 15 Kalamata olives, quartered
- diced raw onion (about 2 TBS to 1/4 cup – depending on your preference)
- Enough Pecorino Romano grated cheese just to cover
- 1/2 lb mozzarella, sliced
- Enough Feta cheese just to sprinkle on top (optional)
- drizzle lightly with olive oil
- 2 TBS fresh oregano, chopped
Put all ingredients EXCEPT oregano on top of lentils. Return to the oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, a second and final time, and sprinkle with fresh chopped oregano.
“There you have it! A meal on a pizza shell! Trust me. It’s wonderful!” – by Jo Giacovelli
Jo was so right. This pizza was unique and every bit as “wonderful” as promised.
That looks fantastic. I love lentils, and pizza, but never thought about combining the two. Great meat alternative! Yum
This is a superb idea .. lentils on pizza 🙂 who could have thought and i am sure it taste good too!
Really Interesting, i will try and give you the feedback.