Meatless Monday: Escarole pizza with white beans and caramelized onions

Sometimes it's fun to shake up the same old, same old, especially when it comes to pizza! There are loads of meatless pizzas out there. Some tired-and-true, some a tad on the boring side. This pizza isn't really either of those things.

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Escarole, with its curly leaves, light green color and slightly bitter taste, is part of the chicory-endive-radicchio family. Match up that taste with the sweet flavor of caramelized onions, and you've got yourself a great combo for pizza, not to mention the perfect Meatless Monday meal! Start at the base of this pizza with white bean spread for heartiness, a bit of tomato sauce for tradition's sake, a little cheese and the rest of the toppings, and you'll delight all at the dinner table!

Escarole pizza with white bean spread and caramelized onions

Recipe courtesy of Grab a Plate

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can white cannellini (Great Northern) beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup loosely packed escarole that has been washed, dried and torn into small pieces
• 1 pound fresh pizza dough (or prepackaged pizza crust)
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into thin strips and caramelized (this should take at least 20 minutes)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Flour for dusting your work surface

Directions:

1. For fresh dough, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. If using prepackaged crust, follow the package directions.
2. Dust your work surface with flour and roll out and shape the dough.
3. In a food processor, add the beans, 2-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Puree until smooth and set aside.
4. Add the shaped dough to a baking sheet and bake for about six minutes (or for prepackaged pizza crust, several minutes less than what the directions indicate).
5. Remove the dough from the oven.
6. Carefully spread the white bean puree over the pizza crust. Next add the marinara sauce. Sprinkle most of the Parmesan cheese over the tomato sauce, then add the caramelized onions.
7. Top with the torn pieces of escarole. Drizzle the remaining one-half tablespoon of olive oil over the escarole, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
8. Bake for about four minutes, or until the crust is golden. Keep an eye on the pizza as it finishes baking so it doesn't overcook.

This recipe is a great "something different" for a Meatless Monday pizza!

More Meatless Monday meals to try

Cold sesame-peanut noodle salad
Fried egg and grilled asparagus sandwich
Avocado, mozzarella and sun-dried tomato Panini