We start the second full week of our mega marathon in which we showcase protein rich dishes. Last week, I posted about lentils and beans. This week I will post about protein rich vegetables. The most popular ones are broccoli, peas and asparagus. Though some vegetables are seen to be higher in protein than others, the protein is it much with vegetables. So I have tried to include other protein rich ingredients in these dishes to make them truly protein rich.

In this dish, I have replaced half of the all purpose flour with amaranth flour which is not only protein rich but also gluten free. Since this is my first time baking with amaranth flour, I did not want to risk by replacing the all purpose flour entirely. But with these amazing results, I am confident of baking with 80% amaranth flour next time and the balance with wheat or all purpose flour. If you want a gluten free pizza, you can use this recipe and take 80% of total flour as amaranth and for the balance use tapioca flour. If tapioca flour is not easily available for you, simply buy tapioca pearls (sabudana) and run it through a mixer and pass it through a sieve. Tapioca flour is ready for you.

For this recipe, I took my usual pizza base recipe and modified it. I was initially skeptical about topping a pizza with broccoli but then I saw many recipes online that steam the broccoli and use white sauce with broccoli rather than the usual red pizza sauce. So I decided to follow suit and even my pizza hating family loved it. Since I wanted to get my daughter to eat it, I made the base thinner and got two medium sized pizzas even after halving the recipe. So set your doubles aside and try this easy and protein rich pizza. I have two recipes for the white sauce which I use for pastas. One is using the traditional method and stirring it in a pan while the other is a microwave quick fix. You can use either recipe to make the white sauce.

Recipe adapted from here

Protein – Broccoli and Amaranth flour

Makes 2  7″ pizzas

WHAT WE NEED

For the base

All purpose flour          1 cup

Amaranth flour             3/4 cup

Instant yeast                   1 1/2 tsp

Sugar                                1/2 tsp

Warm water                    1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Salt                                     3/4 tsp

Oil                                       2 tbsp

For the topping & sauce

White sauce                      3/4 cup

Broccoli                              1 cup

Chilly flakes (optional)

Salt

Mixed herbs (optional)

WHAT TO DO

• Mix all the ingredients for the base together till there is no dry flour left
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-6 minutes
• Transfer the dough to a greased bowl
• Cover and set it aside till it increases in volume
• The dough will take around 1 and half hours to expand about 60-70%. Since we have amaranth flour in it, it won’t double easily. But I found this level of expansion satisfactory for making the pizza
• Steam the broccoli in hot water for 5-6 minutes
• Drain the water and mix it with salt and chilly flakes, if using
• Preheat the oven to 200C
• Divide the dough into 2 or more parts as per your requirement
• Roll each piece of dough into a circular shape to a thickness of your preference
• Transfer it to a greased baking tray
• Spread the white sauce on it leaving an inch at the edges
• Place the broccoli florets on the sauce and sprinkle some mixed herbs, if using
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or till the ends start browning
• Take it out of the oven, divide it into 6 or 8 slices
• Enjoy!

NOTES

1. If you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, then you need to mix the yeast, warm water and sugar and set it aside for 5 minutes or till it starts bubbling and turns frothy. Add the oil and salt next and finally the flours and mix well
2. You can include other vegetables like mushroom and corn along with broccoli
3. You can also top it with cheese if you like. I thought this was flavourful as it is and did not need the cheese. If you are topping it with cheese then broil the pizza for a couple of minutes before removing it from the oven for it melt and turn light brown

This is my post for the Mega Marathon for the theme, ‘Protein Rich Dishes’.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 80