Tomato & Olive Pizzettes with Quinoa Crust

This is a guest post from Wendy Polisi of Cooking Quinoa.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Hi!  My name is Wendy and I blog at CookingQuinoa.net.

I’ve been a fan of Amy’s for several years but it was only in the last few months that I got to know her better via email.  It is always great to “meet” people (even online) that share your parenting values – especially when it doesn’t happen to you often because those values aren’t quite main stream.

Another thing we had in common is that we are both over 35 and (at the time) both expecting babies.  To be honest, I’m a lot more over 35 than Amy is, but since we just met, let’s not go there, ok?

I welcomed a healthy little girl into our family not quite four months ago.  She joins my 7 and 8 year old boys who are 14 months apart.  Since Nate and Baby Green will be 17 months apart, I have a firsthand understanding of how busy Amy is about to be!

As I’ve already told her, she’s going to be tired in the beginning but in the end she will be happy her children are closely spaced.   I will never regret having my boys so close together – they are best friends!  In fact, if I were a few years younger (ok, 10!), I would have another just to give my daughter the same experience.

As a long time reader of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free I was ecstatic when Amy asked if I would be interested in helping out over here while she was enjoying her new addition.

Today I am sharing with you not one, but two of my favorite recipes from The Gluten Free Quintessential Quinoa Cookbook.  These little Tomato & Olive Pizzettes are such a great appetizer!  I love them so much that I’ve been known to make a meal out of them.  And hide the leftovers.  (Tell me at least some of you do this too!)

As enthusiastic as I am about the Pizzettes, the recipe every busy gluten free mom needs is this pizza crust!  Since before my daughter was born I was the only one in our family with gluten sensitivity, I started out making separate pizza crusts for me and the rest of the family.  Imagine my surprise when my husband actually requested I start making everyone “my” crust because he liked it better than his.   I now make it at least twice a month and it refrigerates and freezes beautifully.  I use it to make pizzas, these pizzettes and even Cinnamon Bites, which are one of my boys favorite treats!

Save Print

Tomato & Olive Pizzettes with Quinoa Crust

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  50 mins

Serves: makes 15 pizzettes

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

These little gluten-free pizzettes can be prepped up to 2 hours ahead of time and baked just before serving!

Ingredients

• 1 pound quinoa pizza dough (see recipe below)
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive tapenade
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 ounces  goat cheese OR vegan cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

Instructions

1. Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees.  
2. On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out dough until it is between ⅛ – ¼ inch thick.  Using a round 3-inch cookie cutter cut the dough into 15 rounds.
3. Transfer rounds to a pizza peel lined with parchment paper.  Brush with ½ tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Brush the remaining olive oil on top of rounds and top with tapenade.
4. In a medium bowl combine cherry tomatoes, remaining olive oil, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes. Place on top of the pizza rounds and top with crumbled cheese or dollops of cream cheese. Sprinkle the rounds with fresh oregano.
5. Carefully transfer parchment paper to pizza stone and cook for 20 minutes.

3.4.3177

Yields makes 5 (1 pound) crusts

Quinoa PIzza Dough

This is my favorite multi-purpose pizza dough.  I not only use it to make pizzas but also to make pizza rolls, garlic knots and cinnamon bites!  It freezes well so as a busy mom, this is one thing I try to always have on hand.

15 minPrep Time

2 hrCook Time

2 hr, 15 Total Time

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups sorghum flour
• 1 ½ cups toasted quinoa flour (optional, see note)
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup potato starch
• 1 ½ cups corn flour
• 2 tablespoons dry active yeast
• 1 ½ tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons xanthan gum
• 2 eggs OR 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons warm water)
• 3 ¼ cups lukewarm water
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar or sugar

Instructions

1. If using flax eggs in place of eggs, combine ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons warm water and set aside.  (Skip this step if you are using eggs.)
2. In a large bowl combine flours, cornmeal, yeast, salt and xanthan gum.
3. In a separate bowl combine liquid ingredients with the flax egg and sweetener. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon or heavy duty stand mixer. (If you aren’t using a machine you may need to use your hands.)
4. Cover with a cloth and allow to sit in a warm spot for 2 hours.
5. The dough can be used immediately, though I’ve found it is much easier to deal with cold. Refrigerate for 5 days or freeze for up to three weeks. (I usually use one pound the day I make it and then freeze the other four pounds in separate bags.)  If frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight prior to using.
6. When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees and roll out on a parchment lined pizza peel (the back of a large cookie sheet works too). The dough is going to be moist and not have the pliability that a wheat crust would have. Add a little flour if you need to keep it from sticking to your rolling pin and roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Top with your favorite toppings. Transfer parchment paper to a pizza stone and cook for 10 minutes. Carefully slide parchment out from under crust. Cook for another 15 – 20 minutes, watching carefully towards the end.

7.3

http://amygreen.me/tomato-olive-pizzettes-with-quinoa-crust/

Note:  Quinoa flour has a strong odor that can be off-putting to some.  I use a strategy that I learned from Linsey Herman, a food scientist who writes at Cake and Commerce.  She discovered that by toasting quinoa flour you can eliminate the strong grassy odor and bring out its rich nutty flavor.

How to Toast Quinoa Flour

1.     Preheat your oven to 220 degrees.
2.    Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
3.    Divide a one pound bag or box of quinoa flour among the baking sheets.  You want to spread it out so that it is no more than ½ inch thick.
4.    Place the baking sheets in the oven and cook for 2 ½ hours rotating the baking sheets half way through and stirring the flour to prevent burning.
5.    Remove from oven and cool.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer for best results.