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Vegan Pizza Mofo Post 12!
Ethiopian food is so close to Indian food. It is strange that I haven’t tried my hand at it yet. Well, what better time than right now as a Pizza. Ethiopian veggie options at the restaurants here usually have a couple of lentil/bean/pea stew options. some vegetable dishes(cabbage, okra, collard greens), served on and with Injeras. Injera is a spongy flatbread made of overly fermented Teff flour batter. To complement the Missir Wat / Wot (Red lentil stew), I decided to make a crust with Teff.
The lentil stew is thick and spiced just enough to intrigue all the taste buds. The stew can be served as is with dinner rolls on a cold night. The crust is beautiful, soft and sturdy.
I picked up a bunch of different flours and spices on the weekend to keep my creative juices flowing. I have never baked with Teff before and never used Berbere spice blend as well. Like Indian cuisine, Berbere spice blend is a deep earthy sweet and spicy blend. The heat comes after you have eaten a couple of bites. 🙂
There are several variations of the berbere spice recipe on the interwebz, so I decided to pick up some from our nearby World spice market. Their blend contains Ajwain(carom seeds), Cloves, Fenugreek, Ginger powder, Tellicherry Black Pepper, Cassia, Cardamom, Coriander and Pequin chilies.
Ajwain is used in Indian cuisine in flatbreads(parathas) and pickles, fenugreek in curries and pickles, cardamom on desserts and curries. So I know all of these spices individually and that takes away from the usual fear of trying out something completely new.
Have you eaten Ethiopian food? What do you like best about it.
Since Teff is glutenfree, I decided to keep the crust wheat free as well. You can use any crust posted earlier this month like the regular with gluten chewy White crust or Whole wheat crust, or the Glutenfree Oat focaccia crust.
As with all my gf breads, to keep them soft, non crackly and spongy
– keep the dough more like a stiff batter. if you end up with a non sticky dough, the bread will not rise.
– catch some of the moisture during baking especially for the first 10 minutes by covering the container with foil
– spray liberal amounts of water on the edges and some on the top. bake the batter for a few minutes, before loading it.
Steps:
Prep the lentil stew.
In a bowl, add warm water, yeast and sugar, Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.
In another bowl. mix all the flours, starches, salt, baking powder and spice if using.
Add dry to yeast mixture. Add evoo and vinegar and whisk into a smooth batter.
Let the batter sit for 1.5 -2 hours. The batter with rise and become spongy.
Mix it and drop onto parchment lined sheet.
Drizzle a teaspoon of evoo and ‘lightly’ pat down the batter into desired shape using your hands.
Spray water liberally on top.
Start up the preheat and let the crust sit near the oven or in a warm place for 10/15 minutes. you should see that the crust rises a bit.
Bake in preheated 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Place a foil on the baking sheet without touching the top of the batter if possible, during baking.
Take crust out and load with chopped kale and then with Missir wot lentils and cheese of choice.
Spray water on the edges and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
Take pizza out, top with fresh herbs. Let sit for a minute before slicing.
Dig in
Missir Wot Pizza - Ethiopian Red lentil stew, Kale on Gluten free Teff Pizza Crust. vegan recipe
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar
- 1/4 cup teff flour
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 Tablespoons potato starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, evoo
- a generous pinch of cumin powder, optional
Missir Wot: Whole Red lentil stew
- 1/2 cup whole lentils, sabut Masoor, brown lentils soaked for atleast 2 hours to overnight
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons Berbere spice
Toppings:
- Chopped Kale or other greens
- Shredded vegan cheese
- Chopped cilantro or fresh herbs of choice
Instructions
- Miss wot: Whole Red lentil Stew:
- In a pressure cooker or pan, add oil and heat over low-medium.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. 10-12 minutes.
- Add the berbere spice and mix. cook for a minute.
- Add the soaked lentils, salt and water. Mix well and cook over medium for 2 whistles in whistling pressure cooker then on low for 15 minutes. ( 10 minutes after the pressure has reached for electric pressure cooker)
- If using pan, Add them to the onion mixture along with salt, water and cook on medium, partially covered until the lentils start to disintegrate. 40-45 minutes.
- Taste and adjust salt and spice, take off heat and keep ready.
- You can also use pink/red lentils for a quicker cooking time
- Crust:
- In a bowl, add warm water, yeast and sugar, Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.
- In another bowl. mix all the flours, starches, salt, baking powder and spice/cumin if using.
- Add dry flours to yeast mixture. Add evoo and vinegar and whisk into a smooth batter.
- Let the batter sit for 1.5 hours. The batter with rise and become spongy.
- Mix it and drop onto parchment lined sheet.
- Drizzle a teaspoon of evoo and 'lightly' pat down the batter into desired shape using your hands. Spray water liberally on top.
- (you can also make the crust in an 8 inch cake pan to make a slightly fatter and even more softer crust like this gf Oat focaccia crust.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F / 190ºc. and let the crust sit near the oven or in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes. you should see that the crust rises a bit.
- Bake in preheated 375 degrees F / 190ºc for 10 minutes. Place a foil on the baking sheet without touching the top of the batter if possible, during baking.
- Take crust out and load with chopped kale and then Missir wot lentils and cheese of choice. I used Daiya Cheddar.
- Spray water on the edges and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
- Take pizza out, top with fresh herbs. Let sit for a minute before slicing.
- Best served hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve been coming back to this one for years. Sometimes I just use the bread as a dip for the lentil stew. Thanks for it!
Awesome!! Do leave a rating too if you feel like it!
Hi! Does this recipe appear in a cookbook?
Thank you!
NOt this one I developed the recipe in 2012, My new cookbook is almost ready for release and has some pizzas that I think you will love !!