so first of all: OKRA. oh man it is the best. because i love it so much i put it on everything and it surprisingly works kind of all the time. okra pizza sounds weird but try it, because you’ll probably like it.

this is a good low-effort pizza. it takes a while because of the roasting, but it’s not active cooking time, it’s lazy time. i used this roasting time to have a chocolate raspberry smoothie (milkshake?) to whet my appetite.

a big lavash bread (my favourite pizza shortcut)

tomato sauce

kalmata olives, sliced

1/2  a red onion, sliced very thin

baby arugula

2 heads of garlic, unpeeled with the top 1/4 inch cut off

3 smallish long eggplants (i used the stripey kind, sort of halfway between the italian kind and the indian kind)

2 bags of okra (think 2 big handfuls if you have normal sized hands, 3 if you are me), ends cut off

a cheese (i use daiya, it’s soy/wheat/dairy-free and works really well on pizza. i used 1 bag)

olive oil

salt and pepper

Cut the eggplants down the middle then sliced into the flesh making a criss-cross pattern (not all the way through)

On a big baking sheet, spread out eggplants skin-side down, okra, mushrooms and garlic. If it doesn’t fit in a single layer then use two baking sheets. Lightly toss everything with olive oil, and pour a bit into the open tops of the garlic heads. Let them sit for a second then flip them upside down. Season everything with salt and pepper.

Roast everything at 400 for 30 minutes, flipping the mushrooms and okra halfway through. Remove everything except the eggplant and roast for another 15 minutes.

While you’re waiting, squeeze the roasted garlic out of the heads and into a dish. Cut the okra into 2 or 3 rough pieces. Once the eggplant is done,  i use kitchen scissors to cut it into strips (widthwise). You could just chop it too, and there is no need to take the skin off, it’s tasty and crunchy at this point.

So pizzatime: lay out your lavash or whatever flatbread you want to use, then spread the roasted garlic evenly across it with a knife or a spatula. Folllow with tomato sauce. Distribute okra, mushrooms, eggplant, onion and olives. Sprinkle cheese then grab a few handfuls or arugula to top the pizza. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melty.

btw: i used this garlic roasting opportunity to roast 5 heads of garlic, it’s timely but great to have around so you may as well toss and extra in there to eat later.  you can use it on sandwiches, in pasta sauces or salad dressings, with new potatoes and balsamic vinegar.