Green Goddess Pizza

There are few things better than a homemade pizza. The crust is tastier, the toppings are perfectly customized to your liking, it’s a fun weekend activity with your partner, kids, or yourself — it’s just a win-win, honestly. This weekend, my bod said “veggies!”, but my brain said “PIZZA” …and thus, this decadently delicious — and filled with all the nourishing greens — green goddess pizza was born. And believe me, just because this thing is loaded down with alllll the vegetables, certainly does not mean it is lacking in the flavor department.

Here’s the ticket: Learn to work with your veggies, not against them because you feel like you “have to” eat them. And you’ll learn to love them!

What You Need:

For the Crust

• 1/2 cup very warm (but not too hot) water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

• 1 tsp honey

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 5-finger pinch of salt

• A drizzle of olive oil

For the Toppings

• 1 Zucchini - *very thinly sliced (if you have a mandolin, I recommend)

• ~1 1/2 cups of shredded brussel sprouts

• 1 cup roughly chopped artichoke hearts

• 1 shallot - sliced

• 3 cloves of garlic - minced

• Mini mozzarella balls (you could also use shredded or slice a large ball)

• A heaping handful of arugula

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1 tbsp fresh dill (or dried)

• A generous drizzle of white balsamic

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes

• Pesto (for the base of the pizza)

• Salt and pepp to taste

Make It Happen:

1. To a large bowl add the yeast, warm water, and honey. Let it sit for about 10 minutes or until foamy and “activated”.

2. Add the flour and salt and stir until the dough starts to come together.

3. Lightly flour a surface, take out the dough and knead for about 5-8 minutes - or until supple and smooth. If you have a KitchenAid mixer, you could also do this with the dough hook attachment for about 5 minutes.

4. Lightly oil the bowl, add the dough back to the bowl and roll around to coat. Then cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-2 hours (or until more than doubled in size). I usually place mine in the off oven or near a sunny window.

5. Meanwhile, you can start prepping and chopping the toppings. The arugula topping is best when the flavors come together a little, so I recommend tossing arugula, lemon, dill, white balsamic, pepper and pepper flakes together in a medium-sized bowl. Then cover and place in the fridge until the pizza is done (this little salad goes on last).

6. Once the dough is ready, punch it down and place back on a floured surface to roll it out.

7. For this pizza, I like a super thin crackery crust. But, you can roll it out to as thick or thin as you like. Then, transfer to a greased pizza pan.

8. By the way, heat your oven to 450 :)

9. Spread a thin layer of pesto onto the dough until it covers the whole thing. Then add the shaved brussels, shallots, and garlic. Next goes the zucchini slices (with a little pinch of sea salt) and artichokes. Now the mozzarella balls - as many as you’d like. Then place in the oven for about 8-10 minutes depending on how thick or thin you rolled your crust. Keep a close eye on it!

10. Once you take it out of the oven, add your arugula topping and enjoy!!