Quinoa Pizza With Cheese, Onions & Cashew Cream

Quinoa bread has always been a favourite of mine. Over the years, I used to try out various Quinoa recipes until I found what I really liked and then tested it over and over again. I have made breads, pizzas, buns and other stuff using this recipe. This time, it’s a Quinoa Pizza With Cheese and Onions and Cashew Cream because I had run out of ingredients and this is all I had in my kitchen. The Cashew Cream was left over from another recipe and I thought why not use it instead of tomato sauce. The result- a decadent, rich comforting slice of indulgence. It’s not everyday that we eat like this.

The Recipe For Quinoa Pizza With Cheese, Onions & Cashew Cream

PS: The Cashew Cream is visible in the right side of the above image

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed ( I used white)

1 1/8 cups water;

4 cups wheat flour loosely packed

3/4 tbsp instant yeast

2 tsp salt

11/8 cup low-fat milk, warm

90ml ( may require more or less ) water at room temperature

1/4 cup honey

1/8 cup olive oil

For Cheese & Onion Topping

4 onions, sliced fine and fried in 2 tbsp olive oil till transparent

1/2 cup spring onions, chopped fine and fried with the onions till limp

300 gms grated cheese or more

For Cashew Cream:

1/4 cup raw cashew nuts, soak in water to cover overnight

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Next day drain and grind to a smooth spreadable paste with a little water. I used this instead of tomato sauce as I had some left over.

Method:

Add the quinoa and 1 1/8 cups water to a saucepan. Boil, lower to simmer, and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Switch off the heat, remove the lid, stir the quinoa, and rest for 20 minutes. Mix the wheat flour, yeast, caraway seeds, and salt in a stand mixer. Add the milk, water, honey, and oil. Keep mixing till the dough becomes crumbly and comes together in a stiff mass. Add in the warm quinoa and water, spoon by spoon while the mixer is running. (There should not be too much water. Most of it would have been absorbed by the quinoa). Keep mixing until the dough comes together and forms a soft ball of dough in the middle of the bowl. If the dough is sticky ( depends on the temperature of the place) gradually add 1/8 cup of flour at a time until it forms a ball of dough that clears the sides of the bowl. Add extra flour only if absolutely necessary. The dough should not be sticky. If the dough is too hard, add more water a tablespoon at a time. The texture of the dough depends on the whole meal flour used.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and let it rise until double. ( About 45 minutes to 1 hour). Lightly punch the dough down. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Roll or press out each piece directly into pizza trays. Prick with a fork and leave to rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F /180 Celcius for 40 minutes. Test with a skewer to see if done. If not bake another 10 minutes. Cool in the oven and spread with cashew cream, followed by fried onions and lastly with grated cheese and bake again for 10 minutes till cheese melts. Rest 10 minutes (if you can), cut into slices and proceed to devour.

Original Recipe for Quinoa Bread from https://www.melskitchencafe.com

Thanks a million. I love this recipe.