“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton
Rainbow meals are a good way to keep our immune systems strong and get the kids to try a bunch of veggies. Chetana Parameswar shares one of her family’s favourites – the Rainbow Pizza
Rainbows are a symbol of hope, of better times to come, and are represented as such in Western art. Ever since the Covid-19 lockdowns started in Europe in March 2019, rainbow sketches and art began making appearances on windows and balconies. While the world grapples with the second wave of the C-19, spotting a rainbow with the promise of brighter days ahead is what we can hope and pray for after the pandemic storm passes us by.
Rainbow meals are a good way to keep our immune systems strong and to get the kids to try a bunch of veggies. I try to incorporate some rainbow meals in our weekly menu plan. This time I chose to make a rainbow pizza.
To make a quick no-cook pizza sauce
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar (to balance the tartness of canned tomatoes)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp of oregano
- 1/2 tsp of mixed dried Italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp of salt or to taste
As an alternative, one can opt to use store-bought organic Passata (or puréed tomatoes).
To make the pizza dough, you’ll need
- 400 grams pizza flour or regular APF (plus extra for dusting)
- A 7g sachet of dried yeast
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 250 ml of warm water
- 2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra to coat the dough and for drizzling onto the pizza)
- 1 tbsp polenta or fine semolina to roll out the dough
Method
This dough needs only 5 minutes to make and doesn’t need much resting time. So just mix all the ingredients in a bowl till they come together. Put the dough onto a floured countertop and knead for a minute. Then grease it with a little olive oil and let it rest covered while you prepare the toppings. This will make about 2 large pizzas (about 30 cms wide) or 4 small pizzas (about 15 cms wide). Accordingly, one can half or double the proportions of the dough.
Rainbow pizza toppings suggestions
- Purple / Violet colored veggies: cabbage, onions, cauliflower, eggplants, carrots, Kohlrabi
- Blue / Indigo colored veggies: potatoes, tomatoes, corn
- Green colored veggies: broccoli, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, kale, beans, Brussel sprouts, rocket leaves
- Yellow colored veggies: peppers, carrots, corn, potatoes, zucchini
- Orange colored veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, pepper;
- Red colored veggies: peppers, beets, tomatoes, potatoes
Tips
- Veggies like cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin and Brussel sprouts could let go of their juices while baking. To prevent that one could add a little salt on the cut veggies and let these sit for 5 minutes and use kitchen tissue to dab out the extra moisture.
- Cut the veggies in smaller pieces or thin slices so they cook uniformly during the time the pizza bakes.
- Use the pizza sauce sparingly otherwise, you could land up with a soggy pizza.
- One could also swap 100 grams of APF for whole wheat flour while making the pizza dough.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 250 degrees centigrade with the trays inside while you assemble the pizza.
- Set a baking paper on the countertop and spread out the polenta or fine semolina.
- Set your dough ball onto the polenta lined baking paper and carefully roll out the dough.
- Now spread the tomato sauce onto the dough.
- Spread out the grated mozzarella on top of the sauce.
- Arrange the toppings in the order of the rainbow colours.
- Carefully lift the baking paper and place it on the hot oven tray. I used the fan plus lower rack heat mode in the oven.
- Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on your pizza as each oven is different.
- Slice and enjoy your rainbow pizza!
Disclaimer: Opinions and methods expressed are solely of the writer. Namaste Switzerland does not undertake any obligation or liability which may arise from the content.
