White Pizza with Broccoli and Mushrooms

Cover recipe from Vegetarian Times, April 2010
White Pizza with Broccoli & Mushrooms
I just recently started subscribing to Vegetarian Times.  I’m not a vegetarian myself, but I do like to cook meatless dishes sometimes, and I thought I’d see what this magazine had to offer.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the content so far.  The ingredients in the recipes aren’t bizarre or hard to find.  The focus is on using fresh and healthy ingredients.

The current issue highlights Eating Better Dinners- 32 fresh and easy recipes under 350 calories.   The cover recipe is part of a feature article on Broccoli:  5 New Ways to Enjoy a Good-for-You Favorite.  All of the ideas featured look really, really good.  The pizza on the cover utilizes broccoli and sliced mushrooms set in a creamy white cheesy sauce.  Follow my notes below to see how the recipe turned out.
White Pizza with Broccoli & Mushrooms
Source:  Vegetarian Times, April 2010

ingredients:
2 Tbsp. nonhydrogenated margarine or butter, divided (I used butter)
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)
8 ounces broccoli florets (3 cups)
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup low fat milk
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
1 (13.8 ounce) package refrigerated pizza dough

instructions:
1.  Place pizza stone or baking sheet in center of oven, and heat to 425 degrees F.
2.  Melt 1 1/2 tsp. margarine in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and cook 4 to 7 minutes, or until beginning to brown, stirring frequently.  Add broccoli and 1/3 cup water.  Cover tightly, and steam broccoli in skillet 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender.
3.  Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp. margarine in saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add flour, and cook 2 minutes, or until pale golden, stirring constantly.  Stir in milk, garlic and salt.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until mixture thickens and begins to boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1/4 cup mozzarella and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan until sauce is smooth and cheese is melted.
4.  Shape pizza dough according to package directions.  Remove pizza stone from oven, and place dough on hot stone.
5.  Spread white sauce over dough to within 1/2-inch of edge, and top with broccoli mixture.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over top.  Return to oven, and bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until edges of pizza are golden and center is hot and bubbly.  Cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Yield:  6 slices

Nutritional Information per slice (divided into 6 slices):  calories 275, protein 13g, total fat 9g (4g sat fat), carbohydrates 38g, cholesterol 10mg, sodium 746mg, fiber 3g, sugars 7g

Notes from Culinary Covers:
*The broccoli florets should be sliced in half.  They’ll be too tall and chunky to place on the pizza if you leave them whole.
*The white sauce for this pizza recipe is absolutely delicious.  Loved it.
*I wanted to add more Parmesan on top of the pizza.  2 Tablespoons didn’t seem like quite enough.
*Refrigerated pizza dough at the regular market isn’t so great.  Look around to find something better… Trader Joe’s sells a better refrigerated pizza dough, and sometimes your local pizza place will sell you a ball of fresh dough for a low price too.
*I didn’t bother removing the hot pizza stone from the oven to assemble the pizza. I rolled the dough out on some cornmeal (so it wouldn’t stick to the stone), then just opened the oven and placed the dough on the stone, added the sauce and the toppings, closed the oven and baked. It turned out perfect.
*This recipe served a family of three just fine, accompanied by a side salad too.

Did this recipe deserve the cover spotlight?  Absolutely!  This was a fresh and easy vegetarian pizza recipe.  We’re not even close to being vegetarians yet my whole family enjoyed this for dinner.

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Tagged as: vegetarian times, white pizza recipe