I had some leftover chickpeas from my lunch yesterday. So,  I decided to make a pizza with the rest of the chick peas.

I have made this pizza many times, but the difference is the Grated Vegan Cheese I topped it with. I used one of my favorite vegan and raw brands to make the cheese, Go Raw Foods Sprouted Watermelons seeds, the seeds give them that nutty, buttery taste you find in parmesan cheese. This cheese provides you with 11 grams of protein per 2 tbsp.

The vegan cheese can be used over pizza, salad and soups. You can add crushed red peppers to make it spicy.

The Spread

1/2 chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cups, plus 1 tbsp olive oil, for sauté the chickpeas,

1/2 tsp No Salt McCormick Garlic herb seasoning

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions: Add the chickpeas, in a sauté pan with enough olive oil to cover the pan, on medium heat. Stir the chickpeas and add the seasonings. Allow them to cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and add to the food processors the remaining  olive oil and process and until you get a nice smooth spread.

Grated Vegan Cheese

VEGAN CHEESE:

2 tbsp Go Raw watermelon seeds

1 tbsp McCormick No Salt Garlic Herb Seasoning

1 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch of sea salt

TIP: I added a few of my sautéed chick peas to the food processor to give it more flavor and depth. That will also increase the protein factor.

Add the watermelon seeds into a food processor. Process, until you get a small, fine crumbles. Add in the seasons, and gently pulse again, until the seasonings are incorporate into the seeds, you have texture like fine grated parmesan cheese.

The topping 

1/4 cup red bell peppers, diced

4 marinated artichoke hearts

1 tbsp capers

fresh basil, as garnish

Assembly:

Bake your gluten free pizza crust in the oven, according to the instructions. Once bake , remove with oven mittens and place on a plate. Add a drizzle of olive oil, the chickpea spread, artichoke hearts, chopped red bell peppers, capers, kalamata olives and garnish with basil, top with the grated vegan cheese and Enjoy!!