Vegan roast dinner pizza using short cuts

I have been eating roast dinners since I was a small child.  They come naturally to me.  Even being a vegetarian has not changed this.  So when Sylvia said we should have a vegan roast dinner pizza I embraced it wholeheartedly.  Although it took about 3 hours from making the dough to taking the pizza out of the oven, it was fun to do on a quiet night when I could jut potter around the kitchen.  If you love pizza and love roast dinners, and are open to experimenting, this one is for you!

We made a pizza chunky with brussels sprouts, roast potato, nut roast and cauliflower and flavoured with gravy, white sauce, brie and cranberry sauce.  It was a lot of work but it was worth it.  I am writing it up here today because I want to record some of the ways I made an effort to make it easier.

You can see in my photos that this was a modern pizza, not just because it veered away from traditional pizza toppings but also because it used the air fryer for the potatoes.  I hadn't made air fryer roast potatoes before but I would do it again, especially for a small batch of roast potatoes.

My air fryer is quite small so it took two batches of potatoes at 20 minutes each to roast.  It doesn't sound so quick but it worked well on a busy day when I was juggling lots of recipes and could use the timer on the air fryer to remind me when I got distracted.  I think the constant shaking helped them get crisped up.  In the first batch I was careful turning them and spraying again when turned.  The second batch was sprayed with oil once and shaken lots of times to distribute a small amount of oil and salt.

I also made the cauliflower cheese in the microwave, the fried the nut roast ion top of the stove and steamed the brussel sprouts in the microwave.  I usually cooked sprouts in the microwave but I was really pleased at my short cuts for the cauliflower cheese and nut roast.  

Usually I made a white sauce for the cauliflower cheese in a fry pan, boil the cauliflower, then tip the sauce over the drained cauliflower and add grated cheese before baking.  This time I just made the roux in the microwave like I have seen my mum doing.  It needed some good stirring but seemed quicker.

Nut roasts, as the name implies, are cooked in the oven.  They are usually a loaf that takes quite a while to bake and the when done they need time to cool to avoid being sludgy.  So I cooked mine on the stovetop.  It was more like a burger but the mixture was classic nut roast.  Once I had fried it, I used my egg flip (or spatula) to break it into small chunks to make nut roast crumbles.

I am recording what I did to make all these components because short cuts is how I manage my life (or try to).  I have many ways I can eat a quick gravy, easy white sauce or short cut nut roast crumbles.  Of course this is not fool proof.  I have already tried the white sauce again.  I misread the recipe and added 2 cups of milk instead of 1 1/4 cups and had to change up the timing, incorporate more flour and butter with rigorous stirring and increased the flavours.  At least it wasn't that hard to begin with so it was less stress when it didn't go quite right!

It took me so long to get all the ingredients ready so I could add the toppings to the pizza base that my fast track sourdough pizza dough rose for much longer than usual (about 2 hours) and was in great shape as a result.  

Making everything for pizza meant it did not want to be cooked too much because it gets a second burst of cooking when the pizza is baked.  It also did not have to all be hot at the same time, which is one of the challenges of serving a roast dinner, because it would all be hot once baked on a pizza base.

 

The first item to go on the pizza was the gravy.  I usually fry onion til quite soft to make a gravy because it adds great flavour.  My mum just used gravox powder and water on the pan that the meat is cooked.  I decided I could bypass the onions and focus on frying the flour and adding flavours with the water.  I added some vegemite to darken it because I find light coloured gravy odd!  It worked.  This short cut is not just for this pizza but because Sylvia has learnt to love gravy (at last) and wants me to make it more often.

Then I arranged the ingredients one by one.  They ended up being quite crowded but I liked that there were individual pieces that made me feel like I was eating a roast dinner.  It was like being Violet Beauregarde being amazed at the flavours when chewing on the 3 course gum at Willy Wonka chocolate factory.  Only, I am sure you will agree that pizza is better than gum!
 

This pizza is perfect for a fun alternative to a Christmas roast dinner or for jaded pizza lovers.  Both of these worked for us.  I love Christmas in July.  Sylvia is tired of the same old pizzas.  We were both delighted with our amazing roast dinner pizzas.

More roast dinners on Green Gourmet Giraffe: 

• Roast dinner like mum used to make - nut roast, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, cauliflower cheese, peas and gravy
• Parsnip nut roast with onion and sundried tomato gravy, mashed potatoes with olives and yorkshire puddings
• Stilton nut roast with stuffing balls, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce
• Haggis and cheese mole nut roast with chocolate and red wine gravy, roast pumpkin and sprouts
• Golden beetroot nut roast with roast potato chips, roast pumpkin and creamy leeks and peas.  

Vegan roast dinner pizza 
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Serves 4-6 

• 2 x large pizza bases (I used my fast track pizza bases)
• handful or two of brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1/2 a wheel of vegan brie, diced 
• 2-3 dessertspoons of cranberry sauce 

Air fried roast potatoes 

• 4 medium potatoes, chopped
• olive oil
• salt

Microwave cauliflower cheese

• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets 
• 1 dessertspoon of vegan butter
• 2 dessertspoons of wholemeal flour
• 1 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4-1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2-1 tsp seeded mustard, 
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• juice of half a lemon
• pinch of salt

Frypan nut roast crumbles

• 1 medium piece of dried bread, grated (I used rye) grated
• 1/3 cup walnuts, crushed with a fork
• generous dessertspoon of white sauce
• 1/tsp dried onion granules 
• 1/4 tsp dried mixed herbs 

Easy gravy 

• 1-2 dessertspoons vegan butter 
• 2 button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 dessertspoons of flour 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp stock powder 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp vegemite (gives it colour) 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp dried mixed herbs 
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp onion granules 
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• good grinding of black pepper

Air fried roast potatoes  

Placed in saucepan with pinch of salt and cover with boiling water.  Bring to boil and then simmer for about 2 minutes or until almost cooked.  Drain.

Spread potatoes in one layer in the air fryer (if your air fryer is small like mine you will need to do this in two batches).  Spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Air fry for 10 minutes at 220, 6 minutes at 200, 4 minutes at 190, shaking half way and at the end of each period. 

Microwave cauliflower cheese

Steam cauliflower florets with a little water until just tender.  (About 5 minutes but check and shake around midway through.)  It needs to be firm enough that it wont fall to pieces when being stirred into the white sauce.

Melt 1 tbsp vegan butter in microwave in a small mixing bowl (30-40 seconds).  Mix in flour and microwave for 20-40 second.  It should be cooked enough that it dries out slightly and smells cooked.  

Gradually add in the soy milk.  At the beginning add just a small amount each time and stir vigorously after each addition until it is a smooth mixture.  (If you add it too quickly it is hard to stir in and is more likely to be lumpy.)  As the mixture gets thinner, add a bit more and a bit more until it is thin enough to add quite a lot.

One all the milk is incorporated, microwave until it thickens (about 1-2 minutes.  It can bubble up high so needs to be in a bowl with some extra space and checked regularly).  I found the top part of the sauce will thicken quicker than the bottom and needs to be well stirred in after about 30 seconds. 

Add nutritional yeast flakes, a pinch of salt, seeded mustard, garlic granules and juice of half a lemon. Taste and adjust flavours if necessary.  

When the sauce is done, tip in the cooked cauliflower and gently toss in the sauce.

Nut roast crumbles

Heat frypan.  I use a cast iron frypan which can heat forever  but if a lighter frypan I just heat it on low and turn up heat when ready, if necessary.

Mix all ingredients together to make a stiff mixture (a bit thicker than a dough).  Take handfuls of mixture and flatten into a small discs (about 5cm in diameter) with damp hands (to stop it sticking).  

Take pieces of mixture and flatter into a disk.  Spray frypan with olive oil and fry disks over high heat until browned on each side.  A bit of crunch is good as you want some different textures on the pizza.  Use a spatula to break up in the pan or take off the pan and chop into chunks.

Easy gravy

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a med frypan  Fry the mushrooms for a few minutes until softened.  Stir in the wholemeal flour to make a thick paste (roux).  If it is really dry you can add another tablespoon of butter.  Fry, stirring frequently, until it browns slightly and smells cooked.

Gradually add 1 cup water, stirring well after each addition to make sure there are no lumps.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, noting that the vegemite needs some good stirring so it colours all the gravy rather than ending up as a black blob (you could stir a spoonful of water into it before adding it if you prefer).

When all the ingredients are mixed in, heat over high heat, stirring frequently, until it boils and thickens slightly.  (It will thicken more as a cools).

Brussels Sprouts: steam halved sprouts with a little water in a microwave tub for about 3.5 minutes or until just soft when stabbed with a sharp knife 

To prepare the pizza:

[Press or roll out the dough to make 2 large pizza bases if you are not using pre-made bases.]

Preheat the oven to 200 C.  Spread each base with gravy, arrange cauliflower pieces, brussel sprout halves, and potatoes on top.  Sprinkle with nut roast crumbles.  Dot the brie and cranberry sauce around the toppings.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toppings olden brown and the edges of the pizza base are golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Serve hot or warm.  Can be kept wrapped in baking paper overnight and reheated tge following day.

Notes:

The components should not be cooked to soggy.  They need to be cooked until just tender and then when cooked again on the pizza they will continue to soften.  They can be prepared ahead of time.

If you don't have pizza bases, you can just make a roast dinner with these components 

There are many possible versions:

• I used my fast track pizza bases.  I make these regularly to keep my sourdough starter alive but I have also made them as fast track yeasted pizza bases (without sourdough).  Either are really easy but even easier is buying pizzas bases ready made.
• Sylvia sliced her brie rather than cutting it into blobs.  
• I would add roast pumpkin. 
• Sylvia would add roast carrots.  
• I would double the nut roast as it didn't make enough of an impact.  
• If you don't have dried bits of bread in the freezer that need grating into breadcrumbs, you could buy breadcrumbs or blitz some old bread in the blender. 
• If you are making the nut roast without the white sauce in the picture, you can substitute with , silken tofu and besan, or a yoghurt or cream cheese or an egg and maybe a bit of seasoning if needed.  I would even use a mashed banana.  Anything goes to moosh together all the dry ingredients into a thick dough.
• If brussels sprouts are out of season other green such as peas would work.  
• If mashed potato are what you are used to in roasts then you can use that instead of roast potatoes.
• If you have leftovers from a roast dinner they would be really quick to make into a pizza.  
• We used Damona vegan brie.  If vegan is optional, you could use dairy brie or camembert instead.  Or  there is enough flavour to just leave out the cheese.

Also:

I know the white sauce is béchamel sauce, just as I know that cauliflower cheese is cauliflower gratin.  But sometimes I am just the kid from the country and not at all fancy!

On the Stereo:
Mink Car: They Might be Giants