What to Make & Eat This Week

It's officially the season of orange produce

Last Wednesday’s regular issue featuring some of my favorite comfort dishes went over very well. As we know, few things give comfort like food, especially these days … sigh.

Continuing with the theme of food as comfort, let’s delve into my fave orange produce of October — butternut squash and sweet potatoes. And of course, there’s sugar pumpkin — which will be in this week’s bonus recipe.

This week, we’ll be making:

• Sweet Potato Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Olives

• Tehri-Inspired Brown Rice & Sweet Potato Pilaf

• Roasted Butternut Squash Miso Soup with Soba Noodles

• Butternut Squash & Kale Salad with Apple & Cranberries

Bonus recipe from Vegetariana — Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie (and you’ll find a couple of other bonus sweets in the same spread — a bonus with your bonus. Enjoy!

Here’s an offbeat vegan sweet potato pizza featuring caramelized onions, briny black olives, and a scattering of baby spinach leaves. You can swap in baby arugula for the baby spinach if you’d like.

The silken tofu base adds touch of creamy comfort to each bite, making it a plant-based white pizza that everyone can enjoy. A perfect fall pizza, it needs only a colorful salad as accompaniment. 

This makes 6 slices. Double the recipe for a hungrier or larger group. For more tips and the printable recipe card, see the full post.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large or 2 medium red onions, quartered and thinly sliced

• Pinch of dried basil

• 1 medium-large sweet potato (about 10 to 12 ounces)

• 12.3-ounce package firm silken tofu

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 cup vegan mozzarella-style cheese shreds

• 12- to 14-inch prepared pizza crust, preferably whole-grain,
  or homemade Whole Wheat or Spelt Pizza Crust

• 1/4 cup halved black olives, preferably cured (like Kalamata)

• A handful of baby spinach leaves (long tails trimmed if desired)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425º F.

2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions and a pinch of dried basil; sauté over medium-low heat until the onions are limp and starting to turn golden brown here and there, stirring often, at least 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potato. Quarter it lengthwise, then slice 1/4 inch thick. Place in a small parchment-line baking pan. Mist with cooking oil spray or toss with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just tender and lightly roasted, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes or so. Remove from the oven when done.

4. Puree the tofu, salt, and garlic powder in a food processor or with an immersion blender in its container. 

5. Place the crust on a baking sheet or a pizza stone. Spread the pureed tofu evenly over the surface of the crust (a baking spatula is good for this). Scatter the vegan cheese shreds evenly over the tofu. When the onions are done, spread them evenly over the mozzarella layer. 

6. Bake the pizza for 12 minutes, or until the crust is beginning to turn golden.

7. Remove the pizza from the oven. Scatter the roasted sweet potato pieces over the surface, followed by the olives and spinach leaves.

8. Return to the oven and continue baking for 2 to 4 minutes longer, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown and the spinach is wilted. Remove from the oven, let stand for a minute or two, then cut into 6 slices and serve.