March 2022 - The Fresh Physician

Furikake Seasoning

A delicious spice blend that adds flavor and flair to rice, vegetables, Asian pasta dishes, etc., etc.

Ingredients

Instructions

In a food processor or spice grinder, pulse white sesame seeds once or twice to partly grind, keeping some whole.
Place white seeds in a dry pan (or sauté pan) with black sesame seeds and red pepper flakes (if using) on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.
Cut nori sheets into small pieces with kitchen shears or a sharp knife, or crumble with your hands.
Combine nori and sesame seed mixture in a small bowl. Add salt and sugar, stirring to combine.

Can be stored in an air-tight container for 4-6 months.

Easy Pizza Crust with White Sauce

Makes one 10-inch pizza crust that will serve two.

For time savings, double or quadruple the recipe, freezing extra crusts after the first baking for a quick meal option in future.

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
If using a flax egg, mix the tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside for a few minutes so that it has time to thicken.
Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add oil, water, and flax egg (or one regular egg) and stir to form a thick pliable dough that holds together. If the dough is crumbly and breaking apart, add more water, one tablespoon at a time.
Gather the dough into a ball and roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper, forming a 10-inche round crust. Remove the top paper and transfer crust on bottom parchment to a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 10 -15 minutes, or until golden. (At this point, you can cool and freeze or refrigerate for later use.)
Increase oven temperature to 425F.
Add toppings of your choice. (Such as a red sauce or the white sauce recipe below, then sprinkle with spinach, red onions, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, red or green bell peppers, etc.) Place finished pizza back in the oven for about 20 minutes to allow the toppings to cook and crust edges to crisp slightly. Cool for 5 minutes, cut and enjoy.

Pizza White Sauce

This garlicky white sauce firms-up to a luscious, creamy, cheese-like consistency.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to a blender (starting with 1/4 tsp salt and adding more if needed) and blend until smooth and creamy. (If you do not have a powerful blender, you will need to soak the cashews in warm water for at least 30 minutes prior to blending.) Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time to create a smooth creamy sauce.
This will make more than you need for one pizza. You can freeze extra. If you make smaller amounts, it will be too little for the blender to mix adequately.
This can be used alone as your pizza sauce, or can be thickly drizzled over red pizza sauce.
Bake your topped pizza as above.