Roasted Fennel and Tempeh Sausage Pizza

It all started with a bunch of fennel from the farmers market.... and an intense craving for something with cheese.. and bread... and more cheese.

I love the savory/sweet taste of fennel, probably because it tastes like a black jelly bean flavored vegetable.
For those of you that have never experience the deliciousness that is fennel, it tastes like licorice and pairs well with several foods. 

Fennel is great thinly sliced and added to a salad, but one of my favorite ways to enjoy this vegetable is to toss it with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it up, 'till it's soft and slightly browned around the edges. You can then toss it with pasta (either hot or cold), add to a sandwich or use it as a pizza topping.

I could have kept this pizza simple... a little roasted fennel, some caramelized onions and a bit of cheese, but I wanted something with a little more substance.  I had a brick of tempeh hanging out in my fridge and decided to make some sausage crumbles to go on top.  Now, for those of you that eat meat, you're probably all like.. tempeh on a pizza.. gross, and tempeh that tastes like sausage, yeah right.

But whatever... This stuff is DANG good...and GOOD for you.  I've had many a meat eater impressed with these crumbles, and really, it's all in the spices.  Fennel seed, garlic, sage, crushed red pepper.  All in sausage.  The texture is a little different but once blanketed under a layer of cheese, you would never know the difference.  All you taste is savory, cheesy, bready goodness.

And thats's all that matters.

So, anyways...

Make this pizza.

It's good.

Roasted Fennel and Tempeh Sausage Pizza (makes 2 10" pizzas)

1 batch pizza dough. 
1 medium sized fennel bulb, halved, cut into 1/2" thick slices
2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. grated pecorino romano
1 batch tempeh sausage crumbles (recipe below)
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper


Tempeh Sausage Crumbles

4 oz. organic tempeh
1/2 T. fennel seed
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t. sage
1 t. garlic, minced
1 T. tamari
1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 t. lemon juice

In a sautee pan, crumble tempeh and add just enough water to cover. Over high heat sautee tempeh until most of the water has been absorbed.  Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until tempeh is browned, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place fennel in a bowl, drizzle with 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes (stirring fennel halfway through), until soft and lightly browned. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make your tempeh sausage crumbles. Set aside to cool.
Now, make the caramelized onions. Heat 2 T. olive oil and a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook the onions, stirring every five minutes, until golden brown. Set aside
Now.. let's make some pizza!
Place a pizza stone in the middle of the oven and increase heat to 500 degrees.Roll out your pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper. Place on the bottom side of a large metal sheetpan (you'll use this to slide the pizza onto the stone) and drizzle with a very thin layer of olive oil, just enough to lightly coat the crust.  Scatter on a layer of onions, some mozzarella, roasted fennel, the tempeh crumbles and top with a little more mozzarella. Carefully slide the pizza on to the stone.Bake for 5 minutes, rotate 180 degrees, and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, until the crust is browned and the cheese is melty.  Slide the pizza off the parchment paper onto a cooling rack and top with grated pecorino. Repeat with the remaining crust. 

Pan Fried Gyoza

Gyoza.

A.K.A. little pockets of awesomeness.

Gyoza used to be one of my favorite things to order when dining at a Japanese restaurant. Typically they would come six to an order and would set me back at least five bucks and they were soooo TINY. As tasty as they were I felt like I was being ripped off, especially when they were stuffed with the cheapest of all vegetables, cabbage.

They may look intimidating to make, but really they are quite simple and way cheaper than ordering them in a restaurant.


Lets get this party started.
First order of business: The wrapper.  I bought some wonton wrappers at the asian market. I think I payed maybe a buck fifty for a hundred wrappers. Cheap.  I'm not sure if wonton wrappers are traditonally used, but they worked for me, so whatevs.

Second order of business: The filling.  The base of my filling contained tempeh, cabbage, carrots and shiitake mushrooms, with lots of garlic, ginger and scallion. You could easily make an all veggie version, but I like the way that the tempeh adds a bit of texture, making the dumpling a bit more substantial.

Third order of business: The dipping sauce. Tamari, rice vinegar, sugar and some chili sesame oil. That's it. Spicy and sweet!

Gyoza Filling (makes enough for 2-2 1/2 dozen)

1 1/2 T. sunflower oil (or any neutral oil)
6 oz. tempeh, finely crumbled (I put mine in a food processor and pulsed a couple times to break it up)
2 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. grated carrot
1/2 c. shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
3 scallions, sliced
1 1/2 T. ginger, minced
1 1/2 T. garlic, minced
1 1/2 T. tamari
1 1/2 T. brown rice vinegar
1 t. chili-sesame oil
sea salt, to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute. Add the tempeh, mushrooms, tamari and rice vinegar and stir to combine.  Cook for two to three minutes, or until the tempeh starts to take on a little color. If the mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water, and give it a stir.  Add the cabbage, cook for one minute, then add the carrots and cook for an additional 30 seconds.  Stir in the scallion and the chili sesame oil and season with sea salt to taste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before assembling the gyoza.

The mixture should look a little something like this:

While the mixture is cooling you can make your dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

3 T. organic sugar
4 T. brown rice vinegar
3T. tamari
1/2 t. chili-sesame oil
1/2 t. grated ginger

Place brown rice vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in tamari, chili-sesame oil and ginger. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

When the mixture is cool enough to handle you can start to assemble your gyoza.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 T. cornstarch and 1/4 c. water. This will act as the glue to hold the gyoza together.

Grab a clean cutting board and lay out six wonton wrappers at a time. Place 3/4 T. filling in the center of each wrapper. Dip a pastry brush (or your finger) into the cornstarch/ water mixture and brush all four sides of the wonton wrapper, just enough to lightly moisten.  Grab one end of the wrapper and fold over like you were sealing an envelope, making sure there is a tight seal. Working along the edge crimp together until you have a little purse.  They don't have to be perfect. You could probably just fold them over and leave them as is and they will still be delicious. Transfer your gyozas to a sheetpan and cover with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Repeat with the remaining filling.

Now.....

Heat 1 1/2 T. neutral oil (sunflower, peanut, canola etc..) in a large non stick pan over medium heat.  When the oil is hot (but not smoking), carefully lay your gyoza in the pan in a single layer (I think I was able to fit a dozen in my 12" skillet). Fry for about three minutes until the bottoms of the gyoza are a golden brown.  Pour in 1/3 c. water into the pan (try not to pour directly on the gyoza), cover and cook until all the water is evaporated, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and repeat with the remainder of the gyoza.


Serve hot with dipping sauce.  Eat and Repeat.