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EASY-PEASY VEGAN PIZZA with CHICKPEAS, ARTICHOKES AND ARUGULA

FUN NUTRITIONAL FACTS: You could call this pizza for health! Who doesn’t love a quick savory pie or pizza? You can experiment with different flatbreads and flatbreads made with different grains. The toppings are what give this pizza its…pizzazz! Artichokes, chickpeas and arugula combine to make this a nutritional powerhouse. Chickpeas provide earthy satisfaction and plenty of plant protein. Artichokes, one of the Mediterranean’s oldest cultivated vegetables, are a pain in the you-know-what to clean (hence my suggestion for using easy-to-access preserved hearts), but rank very high in the USDA list of foods rich in antioxidants. As for nutrient-dense superfood arugula, it is packed with phytonutrients and comes with a long list of health benefits. One caveat: It will get even more peppery and bitter when you heat it. You can also add it fresh, without baking, as soon as the pizzas are ready.
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 20 minutes
SERVES 4

Ingredients

  • 2 rounds of lavash (10-inch or 12-inch) tortilla rounds or pita bread
  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin Greek olive oil
  • 2 cups good quality marinara sauce or 2 cups fresh teardrop tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 15-ounce can good quality preferably organic, chickpeas, drained
  • 8 artichoke hearts in olive oil drained (reserve the oil)
  • 1 large red or yellow onion halved and sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves slivered
  • 1 tsp Greek dried oregano
  • 1 small bunch of arugula trimmed

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F (170C) and lightly oil a baking sheet large enough to fit the two bread rounds. Place the rounds on the sheet.
  2. Spread the marinara sauce or quartered teardrop tomatoes evenly over the two bread rounds. Pulse 3 tablespoons of the chickpeas to a coarse grind in the bowl of a food processor. Combine with the remaining chickpeas and spread the mixture evenly over the sauce.
  3. Coarsely chop or halve the artichoke hearts and place them evenly over the surface, snuggling them between the chickpeas. Sprinkle the garlic and onion slices evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the oregano on top. Drizzle with pizzas with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and with 2 tablespoons of the reserved artichoke oil. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the onions are wilted.
  4. Slide the pan out of the oven and spread the arugula evenly over the surface of each pizza. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes, just to wilt the arugula a little. Remove and serve.