The new generation of vegetable based pizzas appeals to a wide audience, not just to vegetarians. With plenty of new buzzwords to enhance their allure, discerning consumers now clamor to eat their vegetables—as long as they aren't boring or over-cooked. Pizza operators and chefs alike, encouraged by the benefits of eating vegetables for good health and wonderful flavor, have been transforming the lowly vegetable from ho-hum to fabulous.

The sophisticated veggie trend is particularly strong within the pizza sector. Vegetable-based pizza, that's extra light on the cheese, has been ordained by various health factions as the "perfect meal". For some families, veggie-based pies are one of the only ways their kids will eat veggies—at all.

Pedigrees Are In

The consumer has gotten hip to a whole new repertoire of vegetable cookery and new catch phrases for popular ingredients and techniques. Vegetables now have pedigrees. An onion is no longer merely an onion, it is a Walla Walla, or a Vidalia, or a Torpedo, or it is red, silver or yellow. Banana peppers, Roma tomatoes, Portabella mushrooms and Japanese eggplant are but a few of the designer vegetables widely available. Like fine wines, these vegetables with a pedigree also have designations such as: vine-ripened, heirloom, locally-grown or organic, to further enhance their image.

New Techniques Create Appeal

In the past, we had to make due with baked, boiled and steamed. Now, vegetables are grilled, roasted, caramelized, stir-fried or sautÈed, and they sound so much more appetizing. Even the way vegetables are cut sounds sexy: paper-thin, shaved, slivered, confetti and ribbons. Many of these classic culinary terms, once used only in trendy restaurants, are now becoming part of the universal culinary chit chat on television, online, in magazines, in cookbooks and are now showing up in casual dining establishments and pizzerias.

Veggie Innovators

The concept that comes to mind when it comes to pioneering specialty non-traditional pizzas and vegetable toppings, is California Pizza Kitchens. Back in 1985, their far-out pizza menu was already peppered with items that were: fire-roasted, caramelized, herb-roasted, soy-glazed and slivered. How could one resist fire-roasted Roma tomatoes, Caramelized onions and herb-roasted Yukon Gold potatoes? What seemed like a mere trend, developed into the norm with more pizza giants like Papa John's (Banana peppers, Baby Portabella mushrooms & Roma tomatoes) and Pizza Hut (Banana peppers, Red onions & Jalapeno peppers), jumping into the game.

Independent Operators Get It

The vast majority of innovation within the veggie pizza repertoire has come from the independently owned shops, where experimentation is not constrained by the corporate decision making process. Pizza operators from all over the country have been incorporating new ways with vegetable toppings over the last 20 years. They have found that creative vegetable toppings star on both vegetarian and non-vegetarian pies—and they sell.

Create Excitement

Even the old standby POM&O could use a remake. Doesn't Veggie Supreme Pizza with "Roasted Sweet Bell Peppers, Caramelized Onions, Fresh Field Mushrooms and Kalamata Olives" sound sexier—and a lot more appetizing than the standard version? Want to keep your old standard, but are looking for a better way to market it? Try describing it as a "Thin-Sliced Sweet Bell Pepper, Diced Red Onion, Fresh Field Mushroom and Black Olive Ring" Veggie Pizza. The description alone should help boost sales. These days, it's all about creating excitement and marketing every aspect of your product to the fullest extent.

Techniques, Ingredients & Jargon of Cutting Edge Vegetable Pizza: Making The Cut

The right cut for the right application makes all the difference in the world. Operators are developing cutting skills, whether they prepare in house or spec out cuts from purveyors. Haphazardly cut vegetables are a thing of the past. Thick strips of raw vegetables do not work well on top of pizza because they release too much moisture and cause the pie to be soggy. As a result, most pizza makers are using thinner cut vegetables to use raw on their pies. A rule of thumb to keep in mind: thinner cuts give off the least amount of water and cook fast on top of the pie. Most commercial produce companies can precut vegetables as thin as a 1/4 inch. To cut vegetables thinner still, use the electric slicer to get cuts of about 1/8 of an inch (for paper-thin cuts). Shaving almost sheer slices can be achieved on some slicers, however the best tools are hand held Japanese slicer/graters and in some cases, for harder vegetables and cheese, the new micro plane graters and shavers work extremely well.

In The Thick

When it comes to roasting, grilling and caramelizing, thicker cuts are better. Vegetables can be cut up to a half or 3/4 of an inch when they are to be cooked. Thin cuts will dry out and shrivel up during the cooking process, while thicker cuts will gain a richer flavor and tender texture. In some cases, like grilling, small thin pieces are next to impossible to grill properly without falling through into the coals. Chunkier vegetables also work best when roasted or caramelized because the vegetables do not get mushy before developing the right flavors and color.

Boutique Cuts

The latest trend in pizza toppings is thin, thin, thin shavings or paper thin slices of vegetables, cheese and cured meats. These cuts work particularly well with hearth style pizzas that are cooked very quickly at high temperatures. Pizza makers are also topping the pies as they come out of the oven with ultra thin topping that literally cooks from the heat of the pie. Another popular technique consists of garnishing the pies with gossamer shreds of vegetables to lend an additional textural crunch, fresh flavor punch and lots of eye appeal.

Confetti cut is small dice of 1/4 inch up to a half inch. Red, yellow and green peppers look absolutely fantastic on pizza with this cut. Fresh red or yellow tomato, or green and yellow zucchini is also wonderful when sprinkled confetti style on a pie. Smaller confetti cuts can be added as a garnish after the pie bakes, for a nice crunchy texture and fresh flavor. Larger confetti works best cooked on the pie.

Some of the most common vegetables that work best thinly sliced or diced are: zucchini, cucumbers, fresh fennel, onions, carrots, garlic, pepper, mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery and tomatoes (technically tomatoes are fruits). Ribbon cuts are long thin cuts of vegetables, longer than a standard thin julienne cut and thinner. Ribbon cuts are especially popular with leafy items like spinach, arugula, basil leaves and radicchio. In classic cuisine this cut is called "chiffonade" but as it has been assimilated into more casual cooking operations, the technique has become known as ribbon cut. Ribbon cuts are used mostly for garnishing the pie as it comes out of the oven. Fresh spinach or arugula work extremely well when they are just heated through from the heat of the pie. Basil cut in this way gives off its perfume and doesn't turn black.

Grilling

Grilled vegetables have a nice slightly crisp texture and a wonderful smoky flavor. The best way to prepare them is to cut the vegetables into rather large 1/4 inch thick slices (larger slices are easier to turn and won't fall through the grill). Toss the vegetables in a small amount of olive oil until they are lightly coated before grilling and make sure the grill is quite hot. Turn the vegetables over to form nice grill marks. Cook until just tender, but still slightly crunchy. Certain vegetables like potatoes and eggplant should be par-cooked before grilling because they take longer to cook. Reserve the finished vegetables in a container and cut into any size once they are cool. What works best on the grill? Peppers and chiles of all kinds, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, radicchio, fennel, potatoes, corn, leeks and mushrooms (Portabella slices work exceptionally well) all excel at being grilled. Grilled vegetables are just as versatile on pizza as they are in sandwiches and on antipasto plates.

Roasting

Roasting brings out all of the wonderful sweetness and mellowness of vegetables, especially in root vegetables. It is a technique that allows for large quantities to be cooked quickly without a lot of fat and mostly in their own juices. Roasted vegetables are tender, but not mushy and their flavor is robust. They are ideal for all kinds of pizza, calzone, stuffed pizza and on their own as a side dish. Simply toss vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper and a small amount of herbs like thyme or rosemary, spread out in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast at about 400 degrees until the vegetables are just tender. Fire-roasted must be done in a wood-burning or gas-fired stone hearth or brick oven. The flames and high, high heat produce a slightly smoky flavor and wonderful rustic look that includes a bit of char.


Caramelized

Caramelized vegetables are roasted root vegetables carefully roasted until they become ultra tender and well browned. The long slow roasting process brings out their natural sugars. The caramelization process can be further enhanced by tossing the vegetables with a small amount of sugar before roasting. This intensifies the sweet flavor contrast. Onions, shallots, garlic, carrots and fennel are ideal for caramelizing. Caramelized onions have become ultra popular and can be found in pizza, calzone, panini sandwiches and pastas.

The technique for caramelizing vegetables is similar to roasting except the oven temperature is between 350 to 375 degrees and the vegetables must roast slowly until they become well-browned but not burnt. Tossing the vegetables with a bit of sugar before roasting will intensify their flavor and allow for quicker browning. (Use the sugar sparingly).

Creating Signature Toppings

Why go through all of the trouble of cutting, slicing, shaving, grilling and roasting when you can always buy most of these items already prepared? The answer lies in creating signature toppings that bring your customers in. The good news is that every operation can add some form or another of hot, cutting-edge veggie-based pizzas to their menus without much fuss. The products are out there.

Great Vegetables Born And Bred For Production

All that cutting, dicing, shaving, grilling and roasting might be great for some operations, but these techniques are certainly not for every store. Does that mean they go without—certainly not! Many operations do not have skilled labor that can chop, slice and dice, and, cook up these vegetable masterpieces. Still others simply don't have the storage or production space. Fortunately, most fresh vegetables can be custom cut to nearly whatever shape and size specified and there are great grilled, roasted and caramelized frozen vegetables that come ready to use.

IQF Versus CM

Up until recently, the frozen fresh, grilled and roasted vegetables were dominated by IQF (individually quick frozen) vegetables. However, the newest buzzword in frozen vegetables in CM: Controlled Moisture. In this latest process, vegetables that have been flash frozen through a unique new process that draws out their excess moisture while allowing them to retain their natural color, texture and flavor. They do not give off additional moisture when used—even while still frozen, and they don't taste frozen.

Best of all, processors are coming up with new and different, roasted, grilled and ethnic style vegetable bases such as fajita and stir-fry to add to the pizza maker's ever-changing array of ingredients.

Wrapping It Up

Vegetable based toppings will only continue to grow in popularity, as they become major players within the pizza topping sector. The aging Baby Boomers, which represent the largest segment of the pizza eating public, will be looking to more inventive vegetable-based pizzas while they limit the high fat and heavier meat-based pizzas. Veggie pizzas won't be toppling the Meat Lover's Combo any time soon, but they are here to stay and are finally enjoying the respect they so richly deserve.

– PMQ –

SIDEBARS

ABOUT MUSHROOMS Mushrooms improve the perceived value of a menu item, demonstrated by Mushroom Council research on menu items with and without mushrooms. (Research showed 72 percent of people shown a picture of the same pizza with and without mushrooms, preferred the pizza with mushrooms.) Customers see mushrooms as quality, and find them a value. Umami, the fifth taste, is a savory taste, and mushrooms are a strong umami ingredient. Combining ingredients with umami such as mushrooms, aged cheese, wine, tomato products, beef products increases flavor exponentially Pre-roasting mushrooms intensifies flavor. Toss a pound of mushrooms with 1 oz. of olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of pepper. Roast in a hot oven stirring once, until all moisture is evaporated, about 15 minutes. Before roasting, seasonings of oregano or thyme, or lemon juice can be added for more flavor. The mushrooms are then chilled, and used cold when assembling the pizza. Portabellas, in place of a crust, make flavorful individual pizzas or a great appetizer to share. Store your mushrooms at 34 – 38 degrees, and in their original container for best shelf life. Optimum humidity is 85 – 90 percent, so avoid being directly below a fan. SOURCE: Mushroom Council ABOUT ONIONS Onions come in three colors -- yellow, red and white. Yellow is the most common color of onions (88 percent of onions produced in the United States) but reds are growing in popularity. Refrigerate onions for 30 minutes and cut into the root end last to prevent tearing. To remove the smell of onions, rub your hands or equipment with lemon juice or salt. When sautÈing onions, always use low or medium heat. High heat makes onions bitter. Do not wrap onions in plastic or store in plastic bags. A lack of air circulation will reduce storage life. Fresh onions purchased in the Spring and Summer months have a higher moisture content and therefore will take longer to cook. CUTTING EDGE VEGGIE JARGON Locally grown Heirloom Vine-Ripened Organic Grilled Fire-Grilled Roasted Fire-Roasted Caramelized Glazed Stir-Fry Saute Paper-Thin Shaved Ribbon Confetti Julienne Rustic cut