Vegan Pizza - No Fake Stuff

There's a relatively new place in town called Punch Neapolitan Pizza and we got take out.  Whenever we get pizza, I know I'm not eating vegan that night.  I always look for a vegan or vegetarian option whenever possible. But I was pleasantly surprised when they had a vegan pizza - with no fake cheese!

I hate the fake stuff.  It never tastes like what its supposed to be replacing.  Fake cheese does not taste like cheese.  I'd rather eat the real thing than suffer through something that is not up to snuff.

Enter the Gigi.  A tomato basil pizza.  It was fabulous.

I KNOW I can make this at home.  I'm lucky that I have a terrific bread book.  Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer.  If you like bread - good bread, the real stuff you'd pay $6 for at the bakery, then this is the book for you.  She has a fabulous recipe for pizza dough.  I use it all the time.  But making this pizza dough isn't for the faint of heart. Its takes a fair amount of planning, and about 6 hours.  But in my opinion its totally worth it.

Most of us aren't going to go through this kind of effort, so I won't waste your time (if you are interested, go buy the book, you won't regret it).

This is what I did:

Use your favorite pizza dough recipe or get a crust from the store.
Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half or crushed
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh garlic, sliced
Olive Oil (If you have garlic infused EVOO - even better!)

Place the tomatoes, basil and sliced garlic on the dough in places where you will to taste all the flavors in one bite. Drizzle the pie with olive oil and bake until the crust is done.

Very good.