Wild Plants Pizza
I make this pizza year-round switching out ingredients for what is in season. Get enough of the following ingredients to cover the pizza shell in layers. Amount will depend on the size of your shell. I also make this on flatbreads and pita. Feel free to substitute ingredients for whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 pizza shell
- Nettle pesto – recipe follows enough to lightly cover the bottom of the shell, or use any kind of pesto you have available
- Nopales (cactus pads), cooked and cut into strips
- Dandelion leaves lambs quarters, or other young wild greens, or use arugula
- Cherry tomatoes halved
- Roasted zucchini and peppers recipe follows
- Sauteed mushrooms recipe follows
- Grated cheese of your choice. I like queso fresco cheddar, feta, or provolone.
Instructions
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Spread pesto with the back of a spoon over the pizza shell. Layer on the greens, zucchini and peppers, cactus, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Top with the grated cheese. Put in a pre-heated, 375-degree oven until heated through, about 15 minutes, and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Wild Plants Pesto
Use on pizza, pasta, sandwiches, with cheese, stuffed in chicken breasts, anywhere you would use pesto.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Servings 1.5 Cups
Ingredients
- ¾ cup toasted nuts of your choice
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ cup cooked stinging nettles other wild green, or arugula. (cooking or drying removes the sting)
- 2/3 cup olive oil more or less
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- Dash lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients. If the pesto is too thick, add more olive oil. Season to taste. Pour into a glass jar or other container and top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the surface from discoloring. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
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Use with pasta, pizza, on sandwiches, fish, and chicken, and in salad dressings and dips.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to substitute with lambs quarters, dandelion greens, young curly dock, or combine wild greens of your choice. Once they are older and have flowered or set bud they will be bitter. Make sure you have correctly identified your wild greens. If using nettles - with gloves on, place leaves that have carefully been removed from stems, in a pot of salted, boiling water for about 15 seconds. Drain and submerge the leaves in cold ice water, “shocking” them to keep the beautiful green color. Drain and squeeze dry. Coarsely chop. The remaining cooking water makes a nice drink for your plants once cooled.
Roasted Zucchini and Peppers
Nice as a side dish too!
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini sliced sideways into 1/2” coins
- 1 bell pepper I like the red for contrast, cored and cut into strips
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon rosemary and/or thyme
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375. Toss the sliced zucchini and pepper strips with olive oil and seasonings. Place on a cooking tray and bake until soft.
Sauteed Mushrooms and Garlic
Mushrooms are getting quite a bit of attention these days with their multitude of immune and brain-boosting effects. This makes a great side dish or topping for savory dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs. butter
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 lb. mushrooms of choice cut into slices. I like shitake.
- 4-5 cloves of garlic minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp. dried thyme and/or rosemary
Instructions
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Melt butter with olive oil in a sauté pan. Add mushrooms and disperse in an even layer. Cook over medium hrover mediume heat for 4-5 minutes without disturbing to brown on one side. Add garlic and seasonings, stir, and cook for another couple of minutes.