Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli Sauce, the colors of Fall, flavors of beautifully locally grown veggies and a huge heart to create the most wonderful pizza that you have ever tried. If veggies are not your thing, try this pizza. We may have the pizza that will take you on the other side of the fence and into the garden!
Song of the day: "Locomotive" by Big Wreck.
Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli Sauce, takes sweet colorful cherry tomatoes, kale, zucchini, summer zucchini squash, and onions, with a base of garlic aioli and a superb homemade crust. There you have it, a winner of a pizza perfect to highlight the Fall harvest season. Plus, it tastes great! I know because I ate four pieces to be exact, and could have eaten the whole thing. A good note, sharing helps keep the weight off, lol!
Reflections of a food blogger.............
I wanted to share a little with you my thoughts as of late. Those of you who do the food blog thing know how much work it is. It is easy to get frustrated and lose that creative drive. This was me before our trip to Italy. Burnt out, emotionally drained and creativity almost nil, a sure sign of fatigue. Yes, time to get away and recharge those batteries.
People always ask me how was your trip? Well, 15 pounds lighter and signs of a good tan due to abundant vitamin D and E. Eyes bright and full of inspiration, my only response is always great! What's not to love, beautiful historic sights, amazing weather and most of all, lots of fresh food. Just what the doctor ordered. Four weeks of plenty of rest due to siestas almost every day, and a week on the west coast of Sardegna, hence beach life, always a good look for me!
It's almost Fall and harvest is in!
Now back to life in Canada with plenty of inspiration and batteries at full charge! Let's get cooking! Today is Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli!
Inspiration
I have to say feeling pretty lucky having been in Italy and being able to go into our family garden there and pick delicious produce, however, I also feel pretty fortunate here because we have a lot of amazing organic growers that have become our friends. One, in particular, Graham from Sparrow's Nest. This farm is certified organic meaning Graham relies on the earth of his farm and our very unpredictable weather.
It has been a really wet summer causing some issues for farming, however, Graham has a huge heart and plenty of passion for what he grows, hence a plethora of vegetables for this Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli. Cherry tomatoes, baby zucchini, summer squash zucchini, onions, kale, and of course garlic.
Thanks, Graham for being who you are, doing what you do and your produce is out of this world delicious!
It's all about the crust
Again, gratitude comes in. Nicoletta is amazing at making pizza dough. She can do it blindfolded. Her drive to achieve is immense and as a result, the most amazing crust I have ever tasted. It's light, has this rich flavor and I love stretching it because I can feel all that foodie love she put in it and because it feels so good. Funny thing about dough and how it makes you feel, whole that is! I can start a new spiritual practice called dough meditation with guest presenter Nicoletta, lol.
Nevertheless, time to get this pizza pie together.
How about the sauce
Looking at all these wonderful veggies I didn't want to go with a tomato sauce. The flavors of the tomatoes and sauteed kale, onions, garlic, and zucchini are enough to wow the taste buds. I need something subtle and smooth, and the light bulb goes off "Aioli". There you have it!
Art is in the eyes of the beholder
Art is a funny thing. It is vast in its definition and who's to say what art really is. Well, today I am feeling that this pizza is a work of art. It has a wonderful pallet of color. Composition is balanced and enticing. and that light feathery placement of the Swiss Gruyère tops it off nicely creating dimension. It looks so delicious and scrumptious, into the oven you go because I am super hungry now!
Kitchen reno
Since being back, our kitchen is under renovation. Change is good, it helps freshen things, gives new light and energy. Nicoletta has been reveling in her new oven baking up a storm and neighbors are quite happy, I believe, because Nicoletta has been delivering packages! One thing I can say is, the smaller oven is perfect for pizza. It cooks evenly and fast.
I am so grateful for this appliance, a dream come true, and as you can see in the pictures above and below, the pizza looks super delicious, and sorry I have to taste it!
Pizza glorious pizza
As you can see, well, hand only, Nicoletta beat me to the punch. She gets the first piece and I am in for a close second. I bite in................
The crispness of the crust is fantastic. The flavor of golden dough, nutty, buttery, and so light. The tomatoes are oozing in my mouth so sweet and juicy and the kale with smidgens of crispy edges and so rich in that mysterious flavor pairs well with the subtleness of the zucchini and that melted Gruyère.
I love how that Aoili just waltzes in offering a nice slight garlic note and creamy richness. A perfect compliment to both the crust and toppings. This pizza I am very proud of and the fact that Nicoletta and I made it together makes it that much better.
Final Thoughts.
This post is all about gratitude and fortitude. Listening to your inner self and respecting yourself in a wholeness sort of way is important. Take time for yourself, enjoy what life has to offer because we all deserve wonderful things. Come together in the kitchen and share in preparing loving foods and in effect we create -I believe- a butterfly effect that could somehow balance some of the more undesirable things! Most of all, have fun, it is the best prescription for life.
I hope you try this pizza, I am sure you will love it because we made it with lots of love!
Truly Enjoy!
Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli Sauce
Harvest Vegetable Pizza with Garlic Aioli Sauce, takes sweet colorful cherry tomatoes, kale, zucchini, summer zucchini squash, and onions, with a base of garlic aioli and a superb homemade crust and you have a winner of a pizza perfect to highlight the Fall harvest season. Plus, it tastes great! I know because I ate 4 pieces to be exact, lol!
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 2
Ingredients
Homemade Pizza Dough:
- 500 g farina 00 (or unbleached all-purpose, or better, a mix of the two)
- 300 ml water, at room temperature
- 5 g fresh yeast (2 g dried yeast)
- pinch of sugar
- 35 g extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g sea salt
Garlic Aioli:
- 4 Tbsp olive oil mayo
- 1 clove garlic minced finely
Toppings:
- 1 ½ cups hand broken fresh kale
- 2 baby zucchini, cut into rounds
- 1 baby summer squash zucchini, cut into rounds
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4-6 multi colored cherry tomatoes, sliced into rounds
- ½ cup grated Swiss Gruyère
- pinch of salt, pepper, mild red chili powder
Instructions
Pizza dough:
- In a small bowl, add half of the water, the fresh yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Let dissolve.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, the water/yeast mixture and start mixing on low. Add the salt, then slowly add the rest of the water, and keep mixing. Lastly, slowly, add the oil and mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the food processor and starts to form a ball.
- Take it out of the food processor and put it onto a floured work surface. Knead it for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Form it into a ball, cover it with a bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Once rested, give the dough a small fold: stretch the ends to form a rectangle, take the outer ends and fold into the center, turn it 90 degrees and do the same. Then, form it back into a ball. Transfer the ball of dough into a bowl, cover with cling wrap (better if you oil the plastic so it doesn’t stick to the dough when it rises).
- Transfer the bowl to the oven (turned off) with the light on and let it rest for a few hours (2-3) until doubled in size.
- When the dough is ready, divide into 2 or 3 even pieces and take each piece and shape into a circle using your hands. Oil a 12-inch round pizza pan and stretch dough until it fills the pan with a nice border. Repeat this with the other dough and set pizza crusts aside. If not using all dough balls, see notes.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Garlic Aioli:
- In a ramekin blend with a small whisk mayo and garlic, set aside.
Toppings:
- In a medium sauce pan heat up olive oil, toss in garlic whole, onion, zucchini, and summer squash zucchini, saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add in kale, add seasoning and chili powder and keep sauteing for another 5 minutes or until kale is slightly wilted. Take off heat, remove garlic, and set aside.
Assembly:
- Oil a 12-inch pizza pan and stretch dough to fit.
- Spread garlic aioli onto surface of pizza. Place zucchini, onions and kale evenly throughout.
- Add cherry tomato rounds. Sprinkle with grated Gruyère, and finish with a drizzle of e.v.o. oil.
- Place in oven on middle shelf and bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to turn golden and cheese is melted.
- Take out of oven and cut.
- Ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also do this pizza on a pizza stone in your barbecue or oven, just watch cook times as the stone is quite hot and will cook the pizza quicker. Remember to dust the paddle with cornmeal or semolina so you can slide the dough onto the stone.
- The pizza dough recipe will make 2 thicker 12-inch crusts or 3 thin 12-inch crusts.
- If you are only going to use one, divide dough into two or three balls and freeze the ones you are not going to use individually in plastic wrap and then in a zip lock freezer bag.
- When using the frozen pizza dough, place the dough ball in a floured or lightly oiled bowl and store covered in a warm place but not in a heated oven. It takes 3-4 hours and it will rise, ready to use again.
- The prep time does not include the making and proofing time of the homemade dough, allow 2-3 hours for this.
- Get the children and guests, if you have, involved in making pizza, it is a fun way to prepare food!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Pizza, Vegetarian
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: pizza, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash zucchini, garlic, aioli, kale, Swiss Gruyere, onions, fall harvest, vegetarian
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Ben says
That is fully awesome. I love a good pizza, especially when it's creative like this. I've had pepperoni or sausage my entire life. I'm all about something new.
★★★★★
Loreto says
Hi Ben
Good on you for wanting to try new things. Life is full of great things and food is a wonderful pallet to experience from!
Thank you so much fore checking this pizza out!
Cheers!
loreto
★★★★★
Chef Dennis says
One of the many reasons why I love Fall is because of this mouth watering recipes coming everywhere! Yum. This really looks so delicious. Will definitely have this in our meal.
★★★★★
Loreto says
Thank you Chef Dennis,. So try fall has many positive things and the produce coming out with all these creative foodies is definitely easing the transition from summer to fall!
Have a great week cooking!
Loreto out!
Aleta says
This harvest vegetable pizza looks absolutely incredible! Zucchini, kale, beautiful cherry tomatoes , gruyere cheese and especially the garlic aioli? Yup, this pizza is a dream meal for sure!
★★★★★
Loreto says
Thank you Aleta, you words are kind and so appreciated. We are so passionate about cooking and creativity and love the presentation of dishes. I am not a pro but am learning as we go!
Shelley says
I'll totally agree with you about the "work of art"! Gorgeous and so bursting with delicious nutrition! I really enjoyed reading your post, too - so much that resonated with me! As a food blogger, I can absolutely relate to the struggle to stay energized (when so much of the behind-the-scenes work is tedious and has little to do with the love for cooking that brought us to this career in the first place), and after my own recent trip to Italy, I 100% understand the infusion of energy that can bring! Ah, and the rainy summer that was so difficult for farmers - we felt that keenly here in Ohio, too. I love that you are so connected to and supportive of your local purveyors! Thank you for this wonderful post and recipe!
★★★★★
Loreto says
Hi Shelly
I am so grateful that you read the post and it connected on another level with you. It is very important for us foodbloggers to build community and support. Thanks for your kind words and for checking out this pizza!
Cheers!
Loreto
Melanie @ Bon Appét'Eat says
This looks so delicious and aioli rythm with my region of South of France so... you touched a soft part here! I'm pinning for later, yum!
Also, I hear you, food blogging is fun and all but it does take a toll on your motivation and creativity sometimes and then I remember why I started! 🙂
★★★★★
Loreto says
Wise Thoughts Melanie.
Foodblogging is a labor of love and you are right we must not forget why do e sta9rte0d and our live for cooking!
Happy Cooking!
Ciao
Eva says
I feel you guys about food blogging burnout and I'm not even close to being as good and creative as you two are. I had gotten to a point where I was just so uninspired. Then I went on holiday, and did not touch the blog for a whole month. Nothing. Niente.
Then I came back with no real plans for the upcoming months, and the ideas just came back. I sat down brainstorming seasonal recipes and I got so creative! Sometimes taking a break really helps us put things back into focus.
I am very happy with my latest recipes and judging from this amazing pizza you created your time off did also help create something great!
★★★★★
Eva with are with you 150 percent on waking breaks and getting away from things. It is healthy and recharges us which in turn results in an increase of creativity like you have said. Would be nice to create a life of balance and harmony with plenty of abundance.
Here's to wishful thinking!
Happy blogging!
Loreto out
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
We make pizza every Friday but it's always the same toppings. I've definitely got to try getting out of my bubble though! This harvest pizza is so perfect for the season! Yum!
★★★★★
Thank you Katherine, It is easy to stay in the norm but I believe sometimes the norm keeps us from beautiful experiences. I am happy to hear that this pizza may have inspired you to cut down the walls of the box and venture out!
Happy Pizza night!
loreto
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Yum! This harvest pizza looks amazing! I love that you use all the in season veggies. Can't wait to try this myself.
Hi Sam thanks, We try to eat seasonal most of the time. It is a great way to eat healthy and fresh. It really worked for this pizza too!
Have a great day!
loreto
Kim @ Three Olives Branch says
Every single ingredient on this Harvest Vegetable Pizza is something I love! And that garlic aioli in place of a red sauce sounds so perfect!
★★★★★
Thank you Kim, Don't you just love those cooking aha moments. The aioli was a result of one of those and it could not have made us happier! It was the perfect compliment to the veggies and crust!
Ciao for now!
loreto
Debbie says
Four weeks in Italy? A dream come true for just about anyone. Fresh yummy Italian food everyday , sun and rest, WOW. Well, I'm glad you went and got inspired . This Harvest vegetable pizza sounds so good with that garlic aioli sauce. I want this now with a glass of wine.
★★★★★
Hi Debbie, feeling pretty grateful for those four weeks in Italy, lots of inspiration, and back to the pace of life here in Canada. Fall is beautiful, all the colors and the presence of all that fall harvest. perfect for this pizza. Hope you get to try this one!
Cheers!
loreto
Michele says
I def need this in my life ASAP! Such a creative and delicious pizza recipe. Loving all the veggies on top with the garlic aioli. YUM!
★★★★★
Thank you Michele, so glad you like this pizza, too bad we are not closer could have a pizza night!
Have a wonderful cooking week!
Loreto
Natalie says
Wow this pizza sounds like a dream. I absolutely love how it's loaded with flavors and veggies. I must give this recipe a try soon. I bet my family will love it too.
★★★★★
Grazie Natalie, sure hope you try this pizza, beautiful and texturally delicious pizza.
Enjoy!
Cheers!
Loreto