Easy ⇴Healthy ⇴ Vegan ⇴ Gluten-free ⇴ Non-processed. Liking the sound of these words? Then this recipe is for you. Many people are under the assumption vegan or health-conscious people cannot eat pizza due to the cheese and wheat flour. Let's prove them wrong.

Pizza doesn't need to be the dairy packed, fast-food crap.

If you are a pizza lover who also cares about all living things and your health, then I am sure you'll get addicted to vegan, gluten-free pizzas in no time. They are truly the best. Believe me! Even my pickiest, non-vegan friends keep asking me when they can come over for pizza night again.

Made this lovely creation for some friends the other day and again happy faces, full bellies and lots of laughter and love... that's what I am cooking for.

And of course special thanks to the amazing locally grown organic cherry tomatoes, eggplant and bell pepper. They are the stars of this meal.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN MEDITERRANEAN PESTO PIZZA WITH CHICKPEA CRUST

INGREDIENTS

For the chickpea flour crust (makes 2 small pizzas or 1 big to share)

11/4 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup water
1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the pesto

1 cup watercress
1 cup fresh parsley
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Toppings

1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup bell pepper, sliced
1/2 cup eggplant, sliced
1/2 cup red onion, sliced
Black pepper and dried oregano to taste

FYI: I had some vegan sunflower parmesan left from the meatballs I made earlier so I added a little bit of that too, but that's totally optional. Get the recipe HERE

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180C (355F).
In a bowl, mix all chickpea crust ingredients until you get a smooth mixture. Unlike a regular pizza dough, the chickpea crust dough will be a rather liquid, yet slightly firm, pourable mixture. Add a little bit more water if it's too dry.
With a spatula or spoon, evenly spread the crust mixture in a 1/2 cm to 1cm (1/4 to 1/2 inch) thick layer on a baking sheet or silicone baking mat. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on the baking sheet or silicone mat before you spread the dough on it to avoid it to stick to the paper or mat.
Bake the crust in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Do not overbake!
Meanwhile, add all pesto ingredients to a blender or food processor and process until a smooth paste.
Remove the crust from the oven and spread the homemade pesto onto it. Top with veggies and season with black pepper and dried oregano. Add vegan parmesan if you like. Put the pizza back into the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Or until the veggies are cooked.