Pizza is one of my favourite foods, but lately I don't feel great after eating pizza with traditional crust. I typically avoid gluten in my diet, so when I have it, I notice that I feel bloated and yucky. Overall, I feel so much better without gluten so I avoid it as much as possible.
It's actually quite easy to avoid gluten if you focus on using vegetables as a substitute. For example, zucchini noodles or "zoodles" in place of pasta, cauliflower rice in place of traditional rice (rice is gluten-free, but I love adding nutritious vegetables into my diet whenever I can!), sweet potatoes or regular potatoes as a base for frittatas, stuffed peppers or zucchini boats as a carrier for taco meat, and of course, portobello mushrooms in place of pizza crust!
This recipe is simple, delicious, gluten-free, grain-free, low calorie and loaded with nutrients (antioxidants, fibre and B vitamins!) and flavour from the mushrooms. I still like traditional pizza every now and than, but this is a great alternative if you want all the pizza flavour without the gluten! Enjoy!
Portobello Pizzas
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
4 portobello mushroom caps, stems removed, washed and dried with a paper towel*
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
¾ cup pizza or tomato sauce or pesto
8 cherry or 1 whole tomato, sliced
2-3 tbsp. Sliced green olives
½ cup hot banana peppers
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or any cheese you like (aged cheddar, feta, goat cheese, brie or parmesan all work)!
Salt and pepper, to taste
Fresh basil or oregano
*These are so good, I usually make 8, and just double the toppings (feel free to add your favourite pizza toppings - anything works)!
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400F, and arrange the oven shelf to the middle of your oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place a cooling rack on top if you have it (if you don't have a rack, when you remove the pan from the oven, place two oven mitts or a folded dish towel under one side of the pan, allowing the liquid to pool to one side of the pan as the mushrooms cool).
2. Combine the oil, garlic and oregano in a small bowl. Brush the bottoms of each mushroom with the garlic oil mixture and place each mushroom, oil side down, on the rack or parchment paper.
3. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Turn the oven to broil or 550F, and bake for an additional 2 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and turns golden in colour.
5. Remove from oven (tilt the pan if you don't have a rack), and let the mushrooms cool for about 5-10 minutes. You can even make these hours or a day in advance - they still taste great reheated slightly in the microwave.
6. To serve, sprinkle with fresh herbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy with a green salad. Mushroom pizzas also make an excellent side to PC Free From BBQ’d chicken, sausages, steak or salmon.
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