I get the weirdest, strangest ideas sometimes…

Mind you, as long as they work, I guess that’s not really a problem, is it? I don’t think I need to see a doctor just yet…

Although that last inspiration is, I have to admit, plain borderline crazy.

I mean, seriously… how can anyone in their right mind be enjoying a bowl of soup and suddendly get super inspired to turn it into a pizza? It’s not like soup and pizza have anything even remotely in common, you know!

Still, that’s precisely what happened to me.

I was sitting there, enjoying a piping hot bowl of Miso soup, when I suddenly started thinking:

“Hmmm… what if I took all of these beautiful ingredients and transposed them onto a pizza dough? Of course, I’d leave the noodles out, there’s no need for them really with all that dough already, but hey, I think I might be on to something here” 

And indeed, I was!

This pizza is just wicked good, if you ask me. Not your typical pizza, but still, GREAT combination of flavors and textures, and it doesn’t feel weird at all to eat.

Everything just seems to blend and fit perfectly well.

I created a “sauce”, out of miso, water, grated ginger and sesame oil! Yum! Talk about tasty! You don’t need to use much of that, trust me. A little goes a very long way.

Then, instead of cheese, I used firm tofu, which I grated just like I normally would cheese. I was very sceptical at first, but you know what? I liked it so much that I will be repeating this again in the future with “normal” pizzas (hmmm… like I ever do “normal” pizzas!)

Seriously, I think using firm tofu instead of cheese is just plain brilliant. It doesn’t melt like cheese, but still, it works admirably well. And if you really wanted the hooey, gooey meltability of the cheese, I guess you could always use half mozzarrella, half tofu.

I’ll definitely have to give that one a try, as soon as I can have pizza again.

Well, as soon as Lent is over, that is.

Unless I can come up with a grain free pizza dough.

Hey, I’m not against that idea at all.

MISO SOUP MEETS PIZZA DOUGH

INGREDIENTS 
(For one 10-12 inch pizza) 

DOUGH

SAUCE

  • 1 tsp miso
  • 1 tsp hot water
  • ½ tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • ¼ tsp sesame oil

TOPPINGS

  • 50g enoki mushrooms
  • 50g shiitake musrooms, sliced
  • 100g firm tofu, grated
  • 50g firm tofu, in ½” cubes
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • A generous pinch of arame
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 500F.
  • In a small mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the “sauce” until well combined. Set aside.
  • Soak the arame in boiling water for a few minutes to rehydrate it then drain and lay on paper towel to absorb excess water.
  • Roll or stretch dough into 10-12 inch disc and lay on a baking sheet. (I used sesame seeds to keep mine from sticking)
  • Spread “sauce” over entire surface of disc and top with grated tofu, followed by enoki mushrooms, shiitake, tofu cubes, arame, green onion and sesame seeds.
  • Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes, until tofu cubes start to color and the crust turns golden and looks nice and cripsy.