Heart Healthier Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

Created by: Kay Lee
Yield: about 9" pizza

Can America’s love affair with pizza be heart healthy too? Sure, depending on the crust, topping, and sauce it can make a whole lot of difference. Thin crusts are better than thick. Whole wheat flour and vegetable crusts (like cauliflower) are more nourishing and less carb heavy than white flour crust.   Try a garlic-onion sauce for a change.  Garlic promotes ideal cholesterol levels, decreasing your risk of heart disease. Sweet potatoes are considered a superfood and are loaded with beta carotene, fiber, potassium, and vitamin A. And of course, kale, the king of greens, is packed with powerful heart-protection antioxidants that help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation.

Roasted Garlic and Onion Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 heads of garlic, roasted, cloves removed from skin

• 2 large sweet onions (i.e. Vidalia), thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of turbinado cane sugar

• 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Pizza Sauce Instructions:

• Sauté thinly sliced onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Add sugar and continue to cook for another 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
• Add ¼ cup of water, cover, simmer for another 5- 10 minutes.
• Add balsamic vinegar, roasted garlic cloves and another ¼ cup of water. Continue to simmer brown over low heat until liquid is absorbed for another 5-10 minutes.
• Store sauce in covered container and it will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Pizza Ingredients:

• Hand-made pizza crust or your favorite premade crust
• Garlic-onion sauce above
• 1 medium sweet potato, cooked and sliced ¼” thick
• 1 cup baby kale sauteed in olive oil, set aside
• ½ cup thinly sliced mushrooms
• Dairy-free shredded mozzarella cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Place pizza stone in oven for at least 30 minutes.
2. Place pizza dough on a pizza peel or parchment paper that you can easily and safely slide onto the hot pizza stone.
3. Lightly brush rolled out dough with olive oil. Top dough with garlic-onion sauce, sauteed kale, sliced mushrooms, and cooked sweet potato slices.
4. Carefully slide pizza onto pizza stone and bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese begins to melt and crust is browned.

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