Purple Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts
Homemade sun-dried tomato sauce (tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, carrots, celery, fennel seeds, onion, garlic, white wine, salt & pepper), shaved Gruyere, roasted purple cauliflower & brussels sprouts, sweet peppers
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball pizza dough flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone olive oil salt & pepper
1 small head purple cauliflower, broken into florets ~2 cups Brussels sprouts, cut in half & bases removed 2 mini sweet peppers, seeded & sliced 1 hunk of gruyere cheese, shaved
For the tomato sauce: 8oz oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, undrained 1 cup white onion, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1 cup carrots, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 28oz cans whole tomatoes, undrained 2/3 cup dry white wine 1 teaspoon dried fennel seeds
Directions: Preheat your oven to 400° F. While it’s heating up, you can start making the sauce. First, drain the sun-dried tomatoes, saving ¼ cup of their oil. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
Heat the tomato oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, & garlic and sauté for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the canned tomatoes, wine, fennel seeds, and about half a teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper.
Let the mixture simmer over medium heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. When it’s finished, pulse it in a food processor several times until it’s reached your desired consistency—I prefer to keep it a little chunky.
Meanwhile, get ready to roast the Brussels sprouts. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt & pepper, and lay them out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast them for about a half an hour, or until they start to brown. After you take them out of the oven, increase the temperature to 450° F.
While the oven is heating, toss the cauliflower florets in olive oil, salt & pepper and lay them out on a baking sheet. You can also prepare your dough at this time, using the directions on the right. Then, when the oven is hot, roast the cauliflower for about 20 minutes, until the edges start to turn brown.
Increase the oven temperature to 550° F, or as hot as it will go. When it’s hot, you can pre-bake your dough for a minute, and then brush it lightly with olive oil.
Spread your tomato sauce evenly over the pizza, topped with the gruyere shavings. Next add the brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and yellow peppers. Bake your pizza on the pizza stone until the cheese is melty and the crust is a lovely golden brown. Then take it out and enjoy!