Vegan Recipe of the Week - Super Quick Pitta Pizzas

Super Quick Pitta Pizzas are easy to make, taste great and are a quick meal when you've had a long day at work. They are fun to make with children too and taste lovely.

Makes 2 pizzas:

You will need:

1/2 jar of sundried tomato pesto

1/4 packet of veganic pizza cheese

1/4 red bell pepper, sliced

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 wholemeal pittas

2 portobello mushrooms, sliced

1/4 red onion, diced

a few strips of smoked tofu

1 tsp olive oil

Fry the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil over a medium heat whilst the pittas are in the toaster.

Once the pittas are lightly toasted, spread with the tomato pesto.

Next add all of the chopped veggies, the fried veggies, the tofu and the cheese.

Place under a pre heated grill for 3 minutes to melt the cheese.

Eat and Enjoy!

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Veggie Lounge, Wolverhampton

Veggie Lounge in Wolverhampton is a small vegetarian fast food cafe/takeaway with delivery service, which offers to make most of the menu vegan upon request. The range of food is similar to a regular fast food takeaway - burgers, pizza, chips, wraps, salad etc but this takeaway uses all mock meats, mock fish etc.

We ordered a "Chicken" Tikka pizza for delivery with vegan mozzarella. The order was simple and easy and they were happy to make the pizza vegan for us. The delivery did take a little over an hour as they were very busy that evening. 

When the pizza arrived it was tasty, the mock meat was nicely spiced and there were plenty of veggies and cheese on the pizza with a nice crispy base. We ordered mid-week and they do a mid-week special - any large pizza for £6.99, which was a good deal. There is a minimum order of £10 for delivery and they deliver anywhere in the Wolverhampton area.

You can visit Veggie Lounge's facebook page here

Or visit in person at:

441 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, WV2 3AQ

Overall, great if you fancy some vegan fast food.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Jus-Rol Pastry

This week on TOV, I am sharing one of my fridge staples. Jus-Rol pastry comes in blocks of puff pastry, shortcrust pastry and filo pastry. It also comes in ready rolled sheets, both of which can be kept in the fridge for around a week. You can also buy the pastry from the freezer cabinets in the supermarkets or freeze the chilled pastry yourself. The pastry is labelled suitable for vegans and is Vegetarian Society approved also. 

I find this pastry so versatile and it is great for baking tarts or making a quick pie for dinner. You can use it for sweet and savoury dishes. Jus-Rol is sold in all major supermarkets and many smaller grocery stores. It sells for around £1.50 per packet but is often on offer for £1 or 2 for £2.

Here are some of the dishes I have created using the pastry:

Puff Pastry Pizza

Puff Pastry Parcels

Vegetable Pot Pie

Mince Pies

Mince Pies

Mince Pies

Vegetable Pie

Lattice Mince Tarts

Jam Tarts

Come back tomorrow for a recipe using the Jus Rol puff pastry.

Let me know what you use your ready-made pastry for in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Wheaty Spacebar Chorizo

I first tried one of these Wheaty Spacebar Chorizos when I saw them for sale at Unicorn Grocery in Manchester. I was dubious, mainly because I have never eat chorizo before, not even a meat one, as I became vegetarian at a very young age. So, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, once I opened it and tried it, I loved it! These chorizos are spicy and moist and so full of flavour. They are spiced with paprika and air-cured for an authentic Spanish taste. I'm officially a fan! 

I chopped up this first one and put it onto my Vegan Vox Pizza, it was delicious. I have also used it chopped into my Patatas Bravas recipe and in simple tomato and basil pasta sauce.

As well as being a really versatile ingredient, these Spacebars are great just as they are - straight from the packet, as a tasty snack on the go. They are perfect for lunch boxes, travelling or to keep in the car for long journeys. They retail at around £1.10 each and can be purchased from most online vegan retailers, independent health food stores and vegan grocery stores. I wish they sold them in a shop near me, but each time I'm in Manchester for a visit or an event, I pop in to Unicorn and stockpile them! They have a long shelf life.

So if you have never tried vegan chorizo before, I would grab a couple of Spacebars with your next vegan shopping trip or online order and add some Spanish flavour into your vegan cooking! 5/5

These are the ingredients:

• Ingredients: water, wheat protein* (26%), red bell pepper*, coconut fat*, yeast extract, onion*, spices*, rock salt, thickening agent locust bean gum*, smoke. * = certified organic.

I'll be at London VegFest on Saturday this week - 5th October, 2013 - so I hope to see some of you there! If you are not going, I'll be reviewing my day at the event next week here on Vegan Vox Reviews. If you have missed any of my previous reviews, there is now a handy Reviews tab at the top of the blog so you can easily access them all from one place.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Recipe of the Week - Vegan Vox Pizza and Calzone

Last week I posted my homemade pizza on Instagram and got lots of love for it so I thought I'd post the recipe for those who asked and for the regular Tuesday recipe folks.

Vegan Vox Pizza - makes 2 large pizzas - serves 4 hungry vegans!

Ingredients:

For the dough you will need:

275 ml of tepid water

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

450 g strong bread flour

2.5 tsp instant or fast-acting dried yeast (1 x 7 g sachet)

For the toppings:

Pizza toppings are personal but I used:

passata with herbs

roasted red peppers

red onion

sweetcorn

jalapenos

green olives

Cheezly Mozzarella Style (grated)

Italian herbs

black pepper

olive oil

Method:

I use a bread-maker on dough setting for the dough but you can easily make this dough by hand. Pour the water into the bread-maker bucket or bowl. then add the oil, salt and sugar. Cover with the flour and then sprinkle on the yeast. If combining by hand knead for a good 10-15 minutes to combine the ingredients and then leave to prove. After one hour, knock back and then prove again for a further hour. Once the dough is ready remove the dough from the bucket or bowl and turn onto a floured surface and quickly knead. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a round disc. Place the rolled dough onto an oiled and floured 12" pizza tin or baking sheet.

Cover with sauce and toppings to within 1" of the edge of the pizza and and then cover with oiled clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking. This gives a nice crispy base. 

Preheat the oven to 220C and bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Calzone option:

This can easily be adapted to make calzone (this dough makes 8 small calzone). Brush the edges of the 8 small circles with water, cover half of your circle with your filling, fold over the dough and seal. Transfer to a greased baking sheet, cover with a clean towel and leave to prove for 10 minutes. Brush with olive oil and bake in the 220C oven for 12 minutes, then turn over, brush the other side and bake for a further 10-12 minutes until golden.

Let me know your favourite pizza combinations in the comments below or @veganvoxblog on Twitter, I would love to see your VV Pizza pictures too.

I have tried many different vegan cheese options on a pizza but so far the Cheezly mozzarella style grated is my favourite for melting and taste.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx