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Friday night is pizza night at my house. This week we had a craving for our favorite, the Vegetarian Martini Pizza from Circle J’s in Grants Pass, Oregon. This quirky restaurant has a variety of unique pizzas but the Martini is my favorite. This pizza is a unique combination of green olives, red onions and artichoke hearts with mozzarella on a garlic cream sauce base. Since I’m a vegetarian I get this delicious pizza minus the ham. Unfortunately being in Portland we are certainly out of the radius for take-out.
Since I don’t have easy access to my favorite pizza I’ve come up with a simple, fast, copy-cat recipe to tide me over between my visits to Southern Oregon. I’m sharing my recipe for the Vegetarian Martini Pizza here for all to enjoy!
Vegetarian Martini Pizza Ingredients
The combination of the green olives, red onions and artichoke hearts is delicious. Smoked mozzarella makes this pizza stand out. Use a high quality cheese such as Rumiano which is organic and from Crescent City, CA. Not only is their cheese exceptional but you help support a wonderful small business. The cream sauce has a hint of garlic which compliments the other toppings nicely. If using an alfredo sauce add some garlic-freshly pressed, roasted or even a sprinkle of garlic powder. You can also opt to brush the crust with olive oil and forgo the cream sauce for a lighter taste. My version of the Vegetarian Martini Pizza is for a quick, after work dinner. I usually use premade dough which cuts down on prep time but if time allows use your own favorite pizza dough recipe to act as the base for this pizza.
Vegan and / or Gluten Free
The main vegetable ingredients are naturally vegan. Substitute vegan mozzarella, cream sauce and the crust for a quick easy vegan pizza. Follow Your Heart makes a great vegan mozzarella and although they don’t make a smoked variety you could substitute the smoked gouda for the smoked mozzarella. Daiya makes a alfredo vegan cream sauce which would work nicely. Substituting the crust for a gluten free variety is also easy. Bob’s Red Mill makes a gluten free pizza mix and like all their products, is high quality and delicious.
Enjoy the Vegetarian Martini Pizza at home with this easy recipe. It pairs nicely with a spinach salad and your favorite beer. As you can see from the photo we opted for Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Bend, Oregon. If you’re ever passing through Southern Oregon check out my story on The Rogue Valley and make sure to stop by Circle J’s to sample the original Martini Pizza.
Vegetarian Martini Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza crust homemade or store-bought – I use Trader Joe’s refrigerated or frozen pizza crusts
- 1/2 Cup Mozzarella shredded
- 1/2 Cup Smoked Mozzarella shredded
- 10 whole or sliced green olives
- 3 TBSP Alfredo Sauce or Garlic Cream Sauce
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 jar of drained artichoke hearts (in water) or 1 Cup thawed frozen artichoke hearts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (Or follow directions for your pizza crust)
- Set out the refrigerated dough for 15-20 minutes to bring to room temperature. Roll dough out using a tablespoon of flour if needed.
- Spread the white sauce onto the crust and top with both types of mozzarella, olives, red onion and artichoke hearts.
- Cook for approximately 10 -15 minutes or for the time indicated by the specific pizza crust you used.
- Remove from oven and enjoy!
