I brought home a few asian pears (called Nashi in Japanese) the other day and I just had to make something very special with them. I decided to make this with a vegan cream sauce. For the cream sauce I used my garlic-miso cashew cream, which is so rich and velvety. To balance the sweetness I caramelized red onions with balsamic and added spice with fresh arugula.
One of my favorite pizzas from back when I ate dairy was a California Pizza Kitchen pie that includes pears, gorgonzola, and arugula. This recipe for Vegan Cashew Cream and Asian Pear Pizza is inspired by my memories of that pizza.
Garlic-Miso Cashew Cream is a beautiful substitute for cream sauce in this Vegan Pizza
Cashew cream is such a versatile ingredient. I first learned how to make this from an old Cafe Gratitude recipe book that focuses on all raw recipes. Over the years I’ve adapted my recipe by adding a few of my stapes from our Japanese ingredients pantry including umami salt and miso paste to give the cashew cream that fermented flavor that you get with an aged cheese.
One of the most important steps I’ve learned for making cashew cream over the years is to soak the raw cashews in water for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. This process softens the cashews, making it easier to achieve a truly creamy sauce. I also always use my “bullet” blender instead of a food processor because you just can’t get that level of smooth cream without it.
For this vegan pizza, I given instructions for making more miso-garlic cashew cream sauce than you will actually need for one pizza. With the left over sauce you can use the sauce to drizzle over some roasted potatoes, use it in a pasta Alfredo, or add a bit of turmeric and nutritional yeast to make a “cheese sauce” for mac and cheese or nachos.
Asian Pear makes a sweet, crisp addition to this vegan pizza
Asian pears (Nashi) are everywhere in Japan during the fall and we are lucky to have them where we live in Los Angeles in most grocery stores. This pear is crispy like an apple or Jicama, and is a little less sweet than a more common pear you would find in the United States. It adds an extra sweetness and crunch to this vegan pizza that I think balances out the richness of the cashew cream sauce.
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Nashi: Asian Pear
Balsamic caramelized onion are an easy way to elevate the flavors in a vegan pizza
I’ve had many a vegan pizza in my life, and one ingredient that I feel always makes a pizza special is balsamic caramelized onion. In this recipe I used red onion for the color, but a yellow or white onion taste just as delicious when caramelized with balsamic vinegar.
Most of the time, I want to make a pizza that is quick and requires only minimal fussing and no pre-cooking. However, this pizza was calling to me, and I wanted to take my time to make it special. Balsamic caramelized onions do take extra time, but they are well worth the effort.
Japanese ingredients are the secret to this vegan pizza
Our family is a blend of Japanese and American, so I am always looking for fun ways to use Japanese ingredients in my American style vegan dishes. This pizza is no exception, where I’ve used miso to add umami flavor to the cashew cream and Japanese Nashi as a main topping.
Another one of my favorite pizzas I made recently involved using Japanese kabocha pumpkin and maitake mushrooms. If your into this Japanese-inspired one, check my Japanese Pumpkin and Maitake Mushroom Pizza out too.
Tell us what you think of this pizza! Share what you created with your left over miso-garlic cashew cream sauce recipe too.
Vegan Pizza With Velvety Cashew Cream and Asian Pear
Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: American2
servings30
minutes2-8
Hours7-10
Minutes1
hour10
minutesIngredients
- Miso-Garlic Cashew Cream Sauce
1 cup raw cashews
3 cups water
2 tbsp miso paste
1 tbsp garlic minced
1 cup plant-based milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
- Balsamic Caramelized Onion
1/2 red onion
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Pizza Ingredients
1 pizza dough (I purchased mine at local pizza shop that sells dough)
1/2 cup Asian pear peeled and sliced
1/2 cup fresh arugula
Cracked pepper
Directions
- To make the miso-garlic cashew cream: rinse raw cashews and place in a large jar filled with filtered water, and cover with a paper towel. Let soak for 2-8 hours depending on how much time you have. After soaking, rinse cashews once again and place in your blender (bullet if you have it), add plant based milk, miso, garlic, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- To make the balsamic caramelized onion: heat a skillet on medium high and add oil once pan is hot. Slice onion and add to heated skillet. sauté onions until they are soft and starting to brown (about 8-10 minutes). Then add balsamic vinegar and stir onions around until all of the balsamic vinegar has evaporated.
- To make the pizza: Start with a pizza dough that is room temperature and has already risen. If you purchased dough from the store and it is refrigerated you will want to let it sit with a cloth covering it for about 20 minutes before assembling the pizza. Once the dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pizza baking sheet by oiling the pan. Stretch and shape the pizza dough with your hands, using flour to keep the dough from sticking. Once you have the dough stretched, place onto the baking sheet. Spread miso-garlic cashew cream sauce, then add pears, caramelized onion and arugula. Sprinkle with cracked pepper. Bake pizza in the oven at 450 degrees for 7-10 minutes until crust has risen and is golden brown.
