Raw Tomato and Pesto Pizza

The other day someone asked Ashley why Americans love pizza so much.  She answered that it must be the cheese.  Her logic is that any pizza with good cheese is going to be delicious. What are your thoughts on the subject?

I'm not sure how I feel about the cheese theory.  Don't get me wrong - in my former life I have eaten plenty of pizzas topped with cheese, stuffed with cheese, and even overflowing with cheese.  Most of them were very delicious.  But now, living the cheese-less life, I still have faith that a pizza can be delicious without the meat, without the cheese, and (dare I say it?) without being cooked.

There are plenty of amazing cooked vegan pizzas, but I am loving this raw one at the moment.  It's a great way to use up any pesto you may have on hand and all those beautiful tomatoes lying around. 

Pesto:
1 cup de-stemmed basil
1/4 cup walnuts
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine the basil, nuts, and garlic in a food processor and process until it forms a course paste. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady drizzle and continue to process until it becomes a smooth texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This makes roughly 1/2 cup of pesto, which is more than enough for the 8 pizzas.

Marinated onions:
Cut 1 red onion into thin slices. Place in a glass jar or container. Then fill with the apple cider vinegar marinade: 1 part apple cider vinegar to 1 part water. Let them marinate overnight. They will keep for about a week or so in the fridge.

Raw Flax Crust: From The Raw 50 by Carol Alt, this makes 8 crusts:
1 cup golden flax seeds
1 cup water
2 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Grind the flax seeds finely in a spice or coffee grinder. Soak the ground seeds in the water until it is completely absorbed, stirring occasionally (this should take about 2 hours). Place the soaked flax seeds in a food processor and add the almonds, onion, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Process until the mixture is finely ground and well mixed.

Roll the dough in your hands to form 8 balls of equal size. Once the balls are rolled, flatten them evenly with the palm of your hand.

Place the pizza breads on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 4 hours. Then flip the breads over onto the dehydrator trays and remove the Teflex liners. Continue to dehydrate for another 4 hours, or until done. You can make bigger pizza breads, which will take longer to dehydrate.

Other ingredients:
Several tomatoes, sliced (use any variety you like)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil for drizzling
Any other fresh or dried herbs for garnish


Assembly:
Take your pizza crust and add a layer of pesto. Arrange your layer of sliced tomatoes and top with a little salt and pepper. Garnish with a few marinated onions, a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of fresh or dried herbs.