Pro-Soup Propaganda

Anti-Inflammatory Recipe: Quinoa Pizza Crust

As promised, here is the quinoa pizza crust I made last week! I will definitely be making it again, although next time I will follow the directions better. I found this recipe on Charity Dasenbrock's For Life! page and it looked so intriguing! Since I had just made the cauliflower crust pizza I figured quinoa had to be just as good! Plus, it's quinoa so you know it's going to be nutrient-dense and filling. It didn't fail to make me happy!

This recipe is supposed to make two 8" crusts, but I figured I would try making it in one bigger pan. It didn't totally work, so next time I will try making two smaller crusts. It still tasted great, but it didn't get crispy in the middle at all. It was a little spongy (for lack of a better word), but tasted totally fine. I'm not real picky when it comes to food! It also stuck to the bottom of the pan in the middle, so next time, yes, I will follow the directions. ;o)

1.25 cups quinoa
1/2-3/4 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Soak the quinoa over night, two nights if you have time. It will help the nutrients become more available. As Charity says, "This step is important for removing the phytates. Phytic acid is an 'anti-nutrient' which binds up the minerals in the grain and prevents the body from using them." So soak the quinoa!

When you are ready to make the crust, preheat the oven to 450*. Blend the drained and rinsed quinoa with 1/2 cup water and a pinch of salt. You may end up needing a little more water, but start with 1/2 cup. Blend the mixture until it resembles pancake batter. Divide the olive oil and cover the bottom of the two pans. Place them into the oven until the oil is shimmering hot. Remove from the oven and divide the quinoa mixture between the two. Bake for 20 minutes and then flip and bake for another 10 minutes. Put toppings on your pizza and then bake a few more minutes to warm them. (I used the rest of the avocado pesto and my toppings from the cauliflower crust pizza. Yummy!)

Voila! Crunchy, nutritious pizza crust from quinoa! Big thank you to Charity for her totally delicious recipe that I look forward to making again CORRECTLY!!