Raw Pizza Night!
I always love experimenting with ingredients. Lately, I have been on a buckwheat binge. Buckwheat is gluten free and a great alternative to wheat. Did you know that buckwheat is not a grain? It is actually a seed that is related to rhubarb.
I have an affinity with buckwheat. When I was a little girl, my dad, ever the nutrition conscious chef, used to make us buckwheat pancakes for Sunday morning breakfast. I loved it when my dad cooked. Everything seemed more special, probably because he didn’t do it that often. Mom made beautiful, delicious dinners every night but turn Dad lose in the kitchen and somehow magic was born.
Buckwheat has amazing health benefits. First of all, it’s a great source of Manganese. Why is that important? Manganese helps your body in many ways. It helps keep your bones healthy, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. It supports thyroid function and protects your cells from free radical damage. If that isn’t enough, it also helps maintain healthy nerves.
Buckwheat is also great for your cardio vascular system. What more can you ask for?
Today’s raw pizza recipe takes advantage of that wonderful seed in it’s crust. I have had many requests for pizza so I finally dug in and made one for you. I must admit, this recipe is a complete winner. The recipe looks long but it you make the crust and mushrooms ahead and it is easy to throw together.
Raw Pizza with Buckwheat Crust
Buckwheat Crust
- 1 cup buckwheat, sprouted
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked 6 hours, drained
- 3 carrots, diced very fine
- 1 teaspoon Italian spices
- Sprout buckwheat: Soak 1 cup buckwheat in water overnight. Drain (the water will be slimy so drain and rinse a couple of times). Rinse 3 times a day until little tails sprout. Use when tails are the same length as the seed. This will take 1-2 days.
- Place buckwheat and olive oil in the food process and pulse until a mash is achieved.
- Add walnuts and pulse until well blended.
- Add carrots and italian spices, blend well.
- Form into 6, 4-inch squares on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 140 for 45 minutes. Turn down heat to 115 and dehydrate until the tops are dry. Remove from non-stick sheet to screen and continue to dehydrate until mostly dry. You want these a little soft, not brittle.
Marinated Mushrooms and Onions
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup onions, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup Nama Shoyu
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Toss together mushroons and onions. Place in glass container.
- Whisk together, olive oil, Nama Shoyu and maple syrup.
- Pour over mushroom, onion mix. Stir to coat. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours to marinate.
- Remove mixture, drain. Place on non-stick dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 115 for 4-5 hours.
Marinara Sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, softened
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- 1/4 cup raisins, soaked
- 1/2 cup soaking water from raisins
- 1 teaspoon italian spices
- With food processor running, drop garlic in and chop fine.
- Add remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.
Spinach Walnut Pesto
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 cups spinach
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked, drained and dried
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- With food processor running, drop in garlic.
- Add remaining ingredients and process until a paste is formed.
Cashew Cheese:
- 3/4 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch Himalayan Salt and pepper
- Place all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until a cottage cheese texture is achieved. Add a little water if necessary.
Assembly
- Place crust on plate. Spread a layer of the marinara sauce, then a layer of the spinach walnut pesto, some of the cashew cheese, the mushroom onion mixture and then top with more cheese and onions.
For more great recipes, check the recipe list here: Recipes
Jeannine wrote on August 5, 2014
Also, what’s the best way to store them and how long will they stay fresh? Can they be frozen or does that kill the live nutrients? Thanks!!!
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
Hi, Jeannie, If you want to store these, I would suggest making each part and storing it separately. You can freeze the ingredients without killing off the nutrients. Cheers!
Jeannine wrote on August 4, 2014
I just want some help with dehydrating. I tried this recipe but the crusts took forever to finish. About how long should they actually stay in the dehydrator? Thanks in advance. I’m planning to make this again as soon as my next batch of buckwheat sprouts.
Susan wrote on August 21, 2014
Jeannine: There are a lot of factors that will influence your dehydrating time. The type of dehydrator you have, the actual temp you are dehydrating at, how thick you actually made the crusts, etc. The best answer is dehydrate until dry. I know that doesn’t really help but you can also cut down the dehydration time by starting at a higher temp and reducing after the first 45 minutes. Don’t worry, it will still be raw as the food temp never gets above 115. Cheers!
Veronica wrote on June 12, 2014
Crust does not stay together. Not sure what I did wrong, as I followed the recipe exactly. Could it be that my buckwheat and walnuts were already presoaked and dehydrated dry? I plan to take the crust, which is powdery and loose, and add flax tomorrow, and see if I can still salvage it. It sure did smell up the house today. Smelled so good, was disappointed that we wern’t able to eat it.
Susan wrote on June 12, 2014
Yes. If your walnuts were dehydrated dry, you effectively removed all of the water from the recipe that would have bound it together. You could probably just throw it into the food processor, add a little water and re-dehydrate it. But you do need liquid. Cheers!
Kaitlin wrote on January 18, 2014
I have been eating raw using three cookbooks I ordered and just stumbled upon your site. I’ve already made two of your recipes- amazing! One thing that is troubling me is that other raw chefs and authors have recommended not to exceed 108-114 in the dehydrator. Most of your recipes call for an initial temperature of 145. Do you believe that this temperature is safe and preserves the raw status? Thank you!
Susan wrote on January 20, 2014
Yes, it is still raw. Please see the FAQ page to understand why the integrity of the raw food stays intact. Cheers!
Ursa wrote on January 13, 2014
I’m a raw newbie, who made this pizza yesterday. With every bite that I took I was more and more amazed with the flavours. Truly couldn’t believe it could be this delicious! 🙂
Thank you!
Gina R wrote on December 1, 2013
Susan,
I just made this recipe yesterday and also had a problem with the crust falling apart. Please tell me if you think maybe it was dried too long, not long enough or if I need to add something else? I dehydrated the crust overnight, and used what your recipe called for.
Thank you in advance!
loquia wrote on November 28, 2013
i have made this before and its great