Kid of a Chef Series

Kid of a Chef gave me this recipe concept for Power Sauce on a recent visit.  Her reasons for making this sauce are simple:  as she laughingly says, she has three kids (one adult and two wee ones) who are not enthusiastic about eating their greens.  Hence, this brilliant method of hiding greens in a delicious pizza sauce.

This is what she wrote about her Power Sauce:  “I made it to hide greens from the boys in the house.  They are all carb-hungry and are more likely to eat the pizza crust than anything else.  Even if they pick the pizza apart, they still get the veggies.  I also put the ground power greens in shakes, or use the sauce as a dressing for sandwiches or a panini instead of mayonnaise.”

Power Sauce has excellent flavour – it is the best pizza sauce that I have ever tasted.  While I find most pizza sauces too sharp, this sauce is perfectly balanced. Kid of a Chef freezes the ground greens and uses the frozen greens to make delicious smoothies and shakes.  She made a strawberry shake while we were there and the little ones were asking for ‘more shake please, Mommy, more shake.’  Her version of the Power Shake had banana; frozen strawberries; some of the frozen ground power greens; yogurt; protein powder, vanilla, and milk to thin out the shake consistency, and a little maple syrup if needed for sweetening.  When she covertly adds a little more ground greens to the shake ingredients, the boys call it Leprechaun shake.

POWER SAUCE

CHEF TALK: The key to making Power Sauce is the use of organic greens, which are available at most grocery stores. The greens that I used were a blend of baby spinach, baby kale and baby red and green Swiss chard. You can also use arugula or any other of your favourite greens. Both my daughter and I pre-roast garlic cloves and freeze them for use in everything, including the Power Sauce recipe that follows.  The sauce is gluten free, dairy free, grain free, refined sugar-free, egg free and nut free. My herb garden is currently flourishing, so fresh basil, oregano, rosemary and other fragrant herbs make their way into the Power Sauce.

For the purpose of this post, I made a gluten-free thin crust pizza shell (I will post the recipe for Super Thin Pizza Crust soon).  You can use any of your favourite thin crust pizza shell or flatbread.  The recipe makes over 2 cups (500 ml) of sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Power Greens:

Yield:  1 lb. of organic power greens = 3 cups of ground power greens

• 1 lb. assorted power greens (spinach, arugula; kale, chard, etc.)

For the Power Sauce:

Yield:  2 1/3 cups sauce/ 575 ml

• 1 cup ground power greens
• 2 – 156 g (6 oz) cans of tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced (or 2 pre-roasted garlic cloves)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

For the Power Pizza:

Yield:  1 – 14″ large pizza (10 -12 pieces or 4 – 6 servings)

• 1 pre-baked large thin crust or gluten-free thin crust pizza crust
• 1/2 cup – 1 cup Power Sauce
• Toppings of your choice:  I used pre-cooked, diced bacon and thinly sliced mini portobello mushrooms
• Shredded pizza mozzarella, as needed (about 2 cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

For the Power Greens:

1. Place the greens in the bowl of a food processor and grind finely. There should be approximately 3 cups of ground greens when you are done.  Utilize immediately or place the ground greens in a sealed bags in 1 cup portions and freeze.

For the Power Sauce:

1. Place all of the ingredients for the Power Sauce into the bowl of a food processor and blend to a smooth consistency.  You should have approximately 2 1/3 cups (575 ml) of sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your preference.  Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to one week.  For longer storage, freeze in 1/2 cup to 1 cup portions.

For the Power Pizza:

1. Spread 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Power Sauce to cover the large pre-baked pizza crust.  Sprinkle with your favourite toppings and bake at 425°F/220°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Enjoy!

Here is the visual shown in step-by-step photographs:

More Ideas using Power Sauce:

There is really no limit how you can use Power Sauce (and power greens).  Just to mention a few uses:  use it on hamburgers; as a topping on meatloaf; serve with charcuterie plates; serve alongside toast and scrambled eggs; and any place that you would use mayonnaise.

You Might Also Enjoy these ‘Hidden Vegetables’ Posts by UrbnSpice:

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers

Australian Meat Pies

Make it your Own Burger

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Oven Temperature Accuracy
• The Simple Spatula
• Blooming
• Parchment Paper
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If you try this recipe using Power Greens to make Power Sauce or Power Pizza or Power Shakes, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

 

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