Sunchoke and Asparagus Cauliflower-crust Pizza with Avocado Sauce

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Pizza is one of those foods that is so infinitely customizable that it can satisfy just about anyone’s tastes. Want meat? Pile it on. Only eat veggies? Load those up instead. Like to keep things simple? No problem. Want to load it up with everything conceivable (except pineapple, which renders it completely inedible)? Got you covered there, too.

The same still holds true for people who live with dietary restrictions. Have Celiac disease and can’t eat wheat products? No worries, just use a cauliflower crust or any of the other gluten-free options available. Lactose-intolerant? There are quite a few excellent plant-based cheeses out there to keep you covered. Sensitive to nightshades? Kick the tomatoes and go for an alfredo sauce. Wait, you’re sensitive to nightshades AND lactose intolerant? Oh….

That last bit was the scenario Chele found herself in after finally nailing down the causes of her digestive woes that she had been grappling with for years. Traditional pizza was suddenly of her menu. It didn’t take her too long to find easy replacements for the crust and cheese, but the sauce proved trickier. Most of the non-tomato pizza sauce ideas out there either dairy/cheese or still contain another nightshade (like peppers or eggplant). She needed something that was free of both. She experimented with things like sweet potato and red lentils. The results were quite good, but there was just so much extra cooking involved just to make the sauce. There had to be something simpler out there for when she wanted to throw something together for an easy meal.

We put our heads together and finally decided to try an avocado-based sauce. It turned out to be just what she was looking for. It was quick, simple, and extremely satisfying. A little lemon added to help preserve color also gave it a bit of an acidic bite, not unlike traditional tomato sauce, that was missing from the other alternatives. We spread some across a Caulipower pre-made crust (our current favorite, but feel free to use your favorite brand or homemade recipe instead), and got to work picking out toppings. We were both on a bit of a sunchoke kick when we were developing this recipe, so those were the first things we added. Chele wanted some asparagus, which would complement the sweet/earthy flavor of the sunchokes nicely. She also wanted something to add a little bit of crunch to it, and found herself drawn to some red radishes. I had run across some very nice oyster mushrooms and suggested using some of those, because I am always adding mushrooms to things. Finally, to liven things up a little we tossed on some torn fresh basil leaves. Since dairy was out for Chele, we used a liberal amount of Daiya mozzarella-style plant-based cheese shreds (feel free to use your preferred brand, or real mozzarella if dairy isn’t a concern for you).

We were thrilled with how well the different flavors and textures complemented each other in the final product. It also proved to be surprisingly hearty – half of one 10-inch pizza is easily enough to be a full meal. It would also work well as an appetizer for a larger number of people.