Gluten Free Tomato Pizza with Sweet Pesto

This is the first time cooking since I've been back from Thailand. Actually, aside from our Thai cooking class (which I have to tell you about soon), I haven't cooked anything in 3 whole weeks! That is crazy. But, I'm back from vacation, almost adjusted to the Colorado time zone, and I'm ready to get cooking again. My first recipe: A gluten free tomato and shallot pizza with a sweet spinach pesto drizzle.

Before I left for Thailand, I bought an 8" cast iron skillet and I have to say, it's perfect for cooking your pizza in, especially if you're working with gluten free dough.

I usually like to make my own gluten free crust, but I had this easy-make gluten free pizza mix from A Tavola Together. I found it to be VERY easy, fool proof, and made some pretty delicious crust.

And now for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Pizza mix and ingredients on the package
• Olive oil
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 roma tomato, sliced
• 1 shallot, about 10 slices and 1 tbsp chopped
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup of raw cashews
• Spices to have on hand: garlic powder, truffle salt, onion powder, dried basil, dried oregano
• Stevia drops

 Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the pizza ingredients as instructed on the box. Set aside for 5 minutes.
3. Make sure to grease your skillet with olive oil, and spread your crust in the bottom of the pan.
4. When oven is pre-heated, start cooking your crust first, as gluten free crusts can be a little more difficult to cook through, should be about 5-10 minutes, enough time for you to make your sauce (you can also make everything ahead of time).
5. In a small bowl, mix 1 can of tomato paste with the same can filled with water. Add about a tablespoon of minced shallots, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp truffle salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp basil, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 very small drop of stevia.
6. As you should do with everything, taste your sauce and add spices to your liking. Do you like more salt? Add more. Want more sweetness? Add more Stevia.
7. If you're happy with your sauce, take your pizza crust out of the oven and add about 2 tbsp sauce on top (freeze the rest and save for another time). Place pizza back in oven with the sauce for another 5-7 minutes.
8. In a blender, add a handful of spinach, cashews, garlic, 1 drop stevia, basil, oregano, 1 tbsp olive oil. Blend and adjust ingredients if needed. Want a thinner consistency? Add some more water. Taste test, and adjust.
9. Take the pizza out of the oven once more, and layer with your sliced tomatoes, sliced shallots, and then drizzle your pesto on top. 
10. Place in oven once more and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until crust is cooked. With gluten free crust, your crust will never look dark brown, just keep checking your crust. If you cook it too long, it might end up being like a cracker, but that still tastes good right?

 

 Enjoy!