not-your-regular Pizza :)

This pizza creation was inspired by one of the vendors at the TASTE food show that I went to last week. It was not your regular "heavy" cheesy pizza, but rather had a light, fresh touch to it. YUM :) Interestingly, they added ricotta cheese instead of the usual mozzarella cheese. I have never had ricotta cheese on pizza and was determined to re-create this recipe. :) 

 I did exactly what they said- top ricotta cheese, tomatoes and basil on top of the baked dough. Somehow, it did not turn out right....something was missing...they did not reveal their secret ingredient. I bounced the idea off my cook and we guessed that there was probably some cream cheese in the ricotta mix. Hence, I tried making it again, with a few modifications. The verdict - a recipe keeper! Several people liked it and asked for the recipe.... I'm glad it worked out the second time! :) It would have tasted even better with a pizza oven but I did not have one and had to make do with a regular oven.

Ingredients:

15 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz vegan herb cream cheese

2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese

fresh basil

cherry tomatoes

pizza dough ( 2 packets from Trader Joes)

dash of salt

dash of pepper

Balsamic vinegar/olive oil

1 onion, sliced

garlic, minced

Steps:
Take the pizza dough out from the packet to let it sit and rise.
In a mixer, blend the ricotta cheese and vegan cream cheese until fluffy. Add in salt and pepper.
Slice the cherry tomatoes into half and mix it together with a few drops of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Let it sit for several minutes in the refrigerator.
Chop the basil leaves.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and top with the ricotta- cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle vegan cheese over the mixture, followed by onions and garlic.
Place it back in the oven and let it continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and just before serving, top it with basil and tomatoes. :)
~~::~~
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to All! Enjoy your mooncakes! :)