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Effortlessly healthy eating
05.05.2013

Kale and Brussel Sprout Pizza with Roasted Garlic and White Bean Sauce

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This pizza combines a few of my favorite things: kale and cannellini beans. I wish I could take credit for this delicious pizza but I cannot. The credit goes to Robin Asbell and her cookbook Big Vegan. It is a weighty tome of a cookbook with 350 recipes that run the gamut from Appetizers to Desserts with categories in between such as Breads, Sauces and Side Dishes. The recipes are all fairly simple with relatively short ingredient lists. It is an excellent resource if you are trying to find your way in the meat free, dairy free world.

A few weeks ago I posted my tomato and cannellini bean sauce. With gusto and pride I recounted the multiple trials that eventually produced a perfect sauce that Pao and I could call our own. Well Robin’s simple, no cook Roasted Garlic and White Bean Sauce gives our sauce a run for its money! Aside from roasting the garlic, no cooking is required so it takes no time at all to prepare. The minty warmth of the thyme shares the spotlight with the cannellini beans, chili, garlic and tomato, graciously bringing these flavors into sharper focus.

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I modified just slightly by adding finely shredded brussel sprouts to the mix and lightening up on the oil. I used the Il Fornaio brand ready made pizza dough which comes out pillow-y with the perfect crunch every time.

2 cups kale, leaves removed from the stems and shredded
2 cups brussel sprouts, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package ready made pizza dough
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cooked cannellini beans
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Heat the oven to 400°F. Place the garlic cloves in a square of aluminum foil with a bit of oil. Fold the square around the garlic to make a little pouch. Put the garlic in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, open the pouch and allow to cool. In a bowl combine the cannellini beans,garlic, tomato paste, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Roughly mash everything together.

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Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. While waiting for the water to boil, roll out the pizza dough and place on a pizza pan. Put the kale and brussel sprouts into the boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, rinse with cold water and ring out the moisture. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon oil.

Top the pizza dough with the white bean sauce and then the kale and brussel sprout mixture. Bake the pizza according to the instructions on the package. Kale should be just slightly browned.

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Makes one 12 inch pizza, serves 2-3.

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