Friday night is traditionally our pizza night. Not every Friday night, just once a month so the pizzas remain a special treat. This was a combination of inspirations. The Panko herb breaded eggplant came from Isa of PPK, the home made soy cheese was inspired by Seiti, and the rest was part of our traditional pizzas. It was a bit more work than the other pizzas, but definitely worth it. This will be done much more often.

Eggplant Veganella Pizza

Ingredients:

For the Panko herb breaded eggplant:

  • 1 eggplant, sliced and breaded
  • 1/4 cup soy milk
  • 1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and Italian herbs
  • 1 cup Japanese breadcrumbs called Panko

For the tomato sauce

  • 1 can large tomato paste (140 grams)
  • pinch salt
  • dash Italian herbs

For the Veganella soy cheese:

  • 100 grams tofu
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • salt to taste

For the pizza dough:

  • 400 grams whole-wheat Flour
  • 30 grams yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 tablespoon Italian herbs
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 liter water, warm
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tbs. olive oil

Panko bread crumbsPanko herb breaded eggplantPizza dough

Directions:

To prepare the eggplant and sauce:

  1. Slice the eggplant in 1/4 inch slices.
  2. Dredge the eggplant slices through the four, then in the soy milk and then in the Panok mixture.
  3. Place the eggplant slices on a well oiled baking sheet, spray the tops of the eggplant and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
  4. Turn the eggplants over, spray the tops side and continue for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. When the eggplants are done, remove from the oven and set aside until you are ready to assemble the pizza.Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce by mixing the ingredients in a bowl.
  6. Set aside until needed.

To make the Veganella soy cheese:

  1. Crumble the tofu in a blender.
  2. Add the nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and mustard.
  3. Puree until well blended and smooth.
  4. It will be quite thick.

To make the pizza dough:

  1. Put the warm water in a bowl, add the sugar and the yeast and allow to grow in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbly.
  2. Place the flour, salt and Italian herbs in a bowl and mix so that the salt is mixed in with the flour.
  3. Pour the water and yeast over, add oil and mix well.
  4. Allow to rise in a warm area with a clean towel over the top.
  5. Allow it to double in size, that will be about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes depending upon the temperature.

To make the pizza:

  1. When the dough has risen, pre heat the oven to about 450(F).
  2. Roll out the dough on a floured surface.
  3. Place on pizza tins or a cookie sheet, and brush with olive oil.
  4. Spread the tomato sauce over the dough.
  5. Then lay the eggplant pieces around the top.
  6. Drop spoonfuls of the mozzarella soy cheese around, and optionally shred some Cheesly or other vegan cheese on top as well.
  7. Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 25-30 min