White Bean Sauce and tons of veggies on a Sun-dried Tomato Crust
This pizza inspiration comes direct from a customer, who mentioned a pizza they had at a restaurant with a white bean sauce on it. Being a big fan of cannellini beans, I had to give this a try. This is not a recipe as much as a concept, the main point being to puree the beans with whatever flavors you like. With that in mind, here’s what I did:
In a skillet, I sauteed a clove of garlic for about 30 seconds in a tablespoon of olive oil. I added about a third of a cup of vegetable stock to that, and then added a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. I added salt, pepper, a sprinkle dried thyme, and cooked the beans for 5-10 minutes. Then I pureed this mixture in a food processor. It was a pretty thick puree, but very spreadable. Still, I added another couple of tablespoons of stock to the food processor to smooth it out a bit.
I used almost the entire amount of sauce for one 12-inch pizza and loaded it up with my favorite toppings of sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms.
The pizza was rich and filling, and really satisfying.
Next time – and there will be a next time – I may leave out the olive oil and just cook the garlic in the stock. I might try some greens, like kale. Beans and greens go great together… on a whole wheat crust, perhaps.
I will definitely leave off the tiny amount of cheese I felt obliged to put on out of some loyalty to cheese on a pizza. The flavor got lost in the creamy-garlicky white bean sauce.
