Zoodle Ricotta Pepperoni Pizza

Adapted slightly from The Dinner Mom

I am still working on my “eat more veggies” initiative where I’m trying to eat more veggies every day. For a while, I let veggies take over my life, but then I realized I was overdoing it … and in the process, making myself miserable. Yes, it’s good to have a cucumber as a snack. It’s a little overboard to have veggies for breakfast, salad for lunch, cucumbers for snack, and then go home at the end of the day not hungry at all, but weary, with no energy, because I’ve eaten almost nothing to fuel my body.

I’m led back again to this mantra that I keep returning to after so many years: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Once in a while I find I need to go in excess of some aspect of my life, and I find I almost always learn something in the process. This time, I went overboard on veggies. Yes, seriously! Can you believe I did that? At first I didn’t even realize what I’d done wrong … I felt soooo incredibly tired and rundown that I thought I was getting sick.

I figured it out when I started eating a little leftover corned venison from the fridge. My body started perking up–my energy level was rising. Huh, was I NOT sick? I ate a little more meat, then found a little cheese and I’m not sure what else I found to eat but my body was totally responding to everything I ate.  I felt energized and alive again. I was finally getting some calories into my body in the form of protein, healthy fats, dairy and healthy carbs. Before too long, I was feeling like my normal self again. Yeah!

So all that to say … yes, eat more veggies, but don’t be a dork like me and eat ONLY vegetables like I did on that particular day. Your body needs a healthy balance of foods. Ever since that day I’ve been trying to include other things with my veggies. Like, for example, this interesting “pizza” … no it’s not really much like a pizza. It’s a flattened pile of zucchini noodles with creamy ricotta and other cheeses, cherry tomato halves and a little pepperoni to round it out. It’s delicious, for sure, but I think it’s more like an Italian style hot dish than it is a pizza. I did love it, and my body thanked me for feeding it veggies AND cheese with a little meat on top.

Zoodle Ricotta Pepperoni “Pizza”

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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For the zucchini noodle crust:

• 2 cups spiralized zucchini (a.k.a, zoodles)
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Asiago cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine

For the ricotta mixture:

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
• 1/4 cup finely shredded Asiago cheese
• 7 oz. ricotta cheese (about half of a 15-oz. container)
• 1/2 – 1 Tablespoon finely chopped herbs (basil, oregano w/ a bit of rosemary)

For the top:

• Several cherry tomatoes, halved, or sliced vine-ripe tomatoes
• About 10 thin slices of pepperoni
• Shredded Italian cheese
• Extra basil, sliced thin

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 or 10-inch pizza pan or pie pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, toss the zucchini noodles with the egg, cheese, and garlic. Put the noodles in the prepared pan and press to cover the bottom of the pan.
3. Now add the ricotta mixture ingredients to the bowl and stir to mix well. Put spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture on the zucchini noodle “crust” and use your fingers to flatten it out and cover the zoodles most of the way with ricotta.
4. Top with pepperoni and tomatoes, then some extra shredded cheese. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the mixture is firmly set and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Let the “pizza” sit for 15 minutes or so to firm up.
5. Roll some basil leaves into a roll and slice thin. Sprinkle the basil over the pizza. Cut and enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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This recipe was shared at What to Do Weeekends, Weekend Potluck, Foppemas Farm Recipe Swap and Try a Bite Tuesday.
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