Vegan Pizza Cheese

You know that question "If you were stuck on a deserted island, and could only choose one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Well, I'm pretty sure everyone in our family would say PIZZA. And since pizza making is kind of a tradition in the Holloway family, it makes a very regular appearance on our dinner menu. :)

Travis passing on the pizza knowledge to Grace (aka the next generation). She LOVES to help roll it and proudly gets out her own rolling pin.

Travis sliding the pizza onto the pizza stone. I told you pizza's big at our house! :)

Formerly a "meat and more meat" pizza kind of girl, I've actually come to really love veggie pizzas over the last several months of mindful eating. And though veggie pizzas are pretty darn healthy (as far as pizzas go), it bugged me that there was still a less-than-healthy ingredient on them: cheese (the one thing stopping me from completely gorging on pizza goodness). So I was excited when Travis discovered this tofu "feta" recipe.
Now, I will admit that this is NOT like dairy shredded cheese. It's actually much closer to a ricotta cheese texture. But it IS like cheese in how it helps the toppings bind to your pizza and how it gives a creamy/cheesy sensation when you bite into it. So, just dig into it with ricotta cheese in mind I think you'll be pleased (as we are)!



Tofu “Feta”
From Scott Jurek's Eat & Run
Makes enough for 2 pizzas

8 oz firm tofu
2 Tbsp light miso (yellow or white)
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Drain and lightly squeeze the water from the tofu. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until they are thoroughly mixed and form a feta-like consistency. Spread (or drop) on top of your favorite sauce for a great vegan pizza cheese alternative.

(Note: Tonight we used the full recipe on just this one pizza, but next time we'll spread it out on two.)

Tonight's pizza: toppings included (leftover) homemade marinara and lentil meatballs, (fresh) spinach, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and red & green peppers. Next time we'll add basil too!

Another note: This "cheese" is a little expensive for the first batch, as a tub of miso paste runs for about $8 at Whole Foods; BUT this tub will last you awhile, and since you can get 2 batches of the tofu feta out of a square of tofu AND use only one batch for 2 pizzas, I'm almost positive it's cheaper in price than regular cheese in the long run. Healthy AND cheap?! Score!