No Cheese Pizza

Since we moved to Ottawa, we have a number of go-to places when we need a non-homemade vegan fix. While the Green Door and the Table were always our favourites, there's a charm and quirkiness to our neighbourhood's Wild Oat Bakery, which has always made us come back for more. My favourite vegan item on their menu is actually their raw "pizza," which is more of a big salad on a flax cracker. Andrew's is their Vegan "No Cheese" Pizza, which is essentially veggie toppings on a flat bread. Really the catch of that pizza is the sunflower seed-paste type thing they use instead of cheese and tomato sauce, so I knew that would have to be my focus. (For any local readers, their vegan hemp brownies or their raw truffles are to die for.)

I knew exactly what to do. We also recently went to Montreal for a long weekend to celebrate the New Year, where we rediscovered our love for Aux Vivres, probably the city's most popular organic vegan haunt. On the first night there, we randomly ordered an appetizer (the Paratha) containing their "vegan butter," which was one of the tastiest things ever. While it had nothing to do with "butter," it did have a lot more to do with being a delicious cheesy sauce. Perfect no cheese pizza sauce anyone?

So, in light of my recent desire for renewed culinary creativity, I've attempted to recreate my own version of the Wild Oat's No Cheese Pizza with my own Aux Vivres-inspired twist. This recipe will be more a la French recipe, which means no measurements, and more cooking "by feel." That's usually how my recipe are when they're best!

Vegan No Cheese Pizza 

1 pita (or similar flat bread)

For the "vegan butter" spread, blend:

tahini, nutritional yeast (a very generous amount), water, sea salt, liquid sweetener of choice

For the sunflower paste, blend:

sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, water, pepper

(here you can add different spices and herbs for flavouring)

Toppings:

Any! I used broccoli, tomato slices, pepper, beets, avocado.

Enjoy!