In addition to my arsenal of vegan cookbooks, I also subscribe to two vegan/vegetarian magazines: VegNews and Vegetarian Times. I just received the latest VegNews magazine in the mail, and it’s full of yummy recipes, including this Zesty Za’atar Pan Pizza.

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it. And, wow, it did not disappoint. It was a little more time-intensive than most of the recipes that I make, but it was so worth it. Add a simple salad and a good bottle of wine, and you’ve got yourself the perfect meal to serve to special guests.

The recipe uses za’atar as the base of the pizza. If you haven’t tried it, za’atar is a wonderful spice mixture used in Middle Eastern dishes that consists of sesame seeds, thyme, sumac, and other spices. It’s also wonderful on pita bread served with hummus.

The original recipe calls for soy feta or feta-style tofu, but I couldn’t find either at my local Whole Foods. However, they just started carrying mozzarella-style Daiya and I’ve been dying to try it. It certainly lives up to the hype. The cheese melted beautifully and had a wonderful, creamy texture.

Zesty Za’atar Pan Pizzas

Makes 4, 10-inch pizzas

Ingredients:

1¼ cups warm water

1 tbsp sugar

1½ tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour

2½ cups bread flour

2/3 cup za’atar spice mix

cornmeal or additional flour for dusting

Toppings:

¾ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

½ cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

¾ cup pine nuts

¾ cup Daiya, mozzarella style

2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over water and let stand for 10 minutes, until yeast forms a foamy layer on top of water. Stir in salt, 1 tbsp olive oil, wheat gluten, and bread flour, and continue to stir.

When a soft dough forms, place on a generously floured surface and knead for two minutes. Lightly oil the insides of a mixing bowl, add dough, and turn to coat with oil.

Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 2 hours or until dough is doubled in size. Punch dough down, lightly knead on floured surface again, and divide into 4 pieces. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit again for 30 minutes.

While dough is resting, prepare the toppings. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place an ungreased 10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet into the oven to preheat. Generously dust work surface with cornmeal. Take a piece of dough and gently pat and stretch into a circle slightly smaller than the diameter of the cast-iron pan. Brush the top of dough generously with olive oil, then spoon on 2 to 3 tablespoons of za’atar. Pat dough with the back of the spoon so that the spice absorbs more oil.

When oven is fully heated, remove the hot pan from the oven and carefully place dough, cornmeal-side down, into the heated pan. Spread desired toppings evenly over the dough. Drizzle with additional olive oil, sprinkle with oregano, and bake for 20 to 24 minutes (my oven runs hot, so I baked mine for 15 to 18 minutes), until toppings are browned. Remove from oven, then use a wide spatula to lift the entire pizza from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice and serve immediately.

Enjoy!