Vegan Chopped: Black-eyed Pea Pizza crust, Blackberry Tomato chutney w/ Cauliflower, and Spinach Blackberry Mint Salad. Glutenfree, recipe

Isa (PPK) announced The Vegan version of Chopped, online 2 days back.. and my nerves have been working overtime since then. esp with a packed weekend. I have never watched Chopped, so I tried watch one of the episodes. The animal things and the camera movements(hello motion sickness) made that impossible. So I just read up about it and here we go!

The results are now out here! And I managed to be in the Runners up! :)

The mystery ingredients were:

Black eyed Peas, Mint, Blackberries, and bittersweet Chocolate! to make an Entree in 40 minutes.

What I came up with is this Pizza and a side salad.

Black eyed Peas, Mint, Collard, garlic, chocolate, garam masala crust.

Topped with Cauliflower tossed in Blackberry Tomato Chutney and grape tomatoes.

Garnished with Mint.

And a side salad of Spinach, Blackberries, Mint topped with a Balsamic and bitter chocolate dressing.

Phew!

I added some chocolate to the crust to add a bitterish taste. Black eyed peas are quite a neutral taste by themselves. So the mint collard and chocolate worked well together.

The blackberries made for a deliciously intriguing and pretty colored chutney which was the pizza sauce.

I added some chocolate to the balsamic vinegar dressing and that was a fun salad!

The pizza is based on my deliciously good Sprouted Chickpea Pizza

Cauliflower in Blackberry Tomato sauce.

The crust bakes very well. You can make burger patty out of it and make burgers with greens and the Blackberry Tomato Chutney as well!

You can find all the other Chopped entries on the PPK fb page here

Ingredients: makes one 9 inch round - Serves 1 hungry person

Crust:

1.5 cups black eyed peas(canned, cooked or sprouted)

1/4 cup Oats

1/4 cup chopped Mint

1/2 cup chopped Collard greens or other greens

1-2 Tablespoon melted 70% cacao chocolate(skip if you dont like the chocolatey bitterness)

2 Tablespoons organic oil of choice(I used 1 Tbsp virgin coconut and 1 Tbp extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon garam masala or to taste

1 dried red chili or to taste or skip

Toppings:

1/2 cup small cauliflower florets

Grape tomatoes

Chopped Mint

Sauce/Chutney:

1 medium tomato

1/4-1/3 cup Blackberries

1 inch ginger chopped

1 green chili

1 teaspoon oil

salt to taste

Salad Dressing

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon 70% cacao chocolate or any bittersweet chocolate

Salad:

Chopped Spinach, Blackberries and Mint

Method:

Start up the oven to preheat to 425 degrees F.

Pulse all ingredients for the crust until a thick doughy batter is formed. Use a Tablespoon or so water if needed.

Spread the thick batter on parchment lined sheet using circular motion to about a 1/4 inch thick.

Bake for 6-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the Chutney sauce. In a pan, add oil, heat on medium high.

Add ginger and chili, Mix for a few seconds.

Add chopped tomato and blackberries, salt to taste.

Cook for 3 minutes. Stir every few seconds.

Add the cauliflower, toss and cover and cook till 2 minutes.

Take the crust out. Top it with the cauliflower and the thick chutney.

Add halved grape tomatoes and other veggies of choice.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped mint and chili flakes before serving.

Meanwhile, prep the salad. Chop up greens(I used Spinach), add Blackberries and mint.

In a small pan, heat the balsamic vinegar on low. As soon as it starts to bubble a little, take off heat.

Add chocolate and mix well.

Let this mix cool for a few seconds and then top the salad with the dressing.

If you like the dressing, then sprinkle some on the pizza as well!:) Serve.

This Pizza is being shared at Slightly indulgent Tuesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Allergy Free Wednesday, Rickis wellness weekend