Odd recipe request - pizza without cheese

[Monkeydad]

No, I'm not a bug and pine cone-eating hippie (just joking, no offense personally to vegans) but my three year-old son is allergic to milk. It's different and more severe than "lactose intolerance" which most people respond to us telling them our son is allergic.

Anyways, I want to make a pizza he can eat. I've checked into all of the so-called non-dairy cheeses and soy cheeses available in my local stores and guess what...they DO have milk ingredients in them. Probably not enough to harm a lactose intolerant person but with an allergy, you don't take chances.

Not thrilled about tofu as a substitute so that's out.

I'm thinking along the lines of a Pizza Margherita with a tomato and EVOO topping, but will probably add some meat and veggies too.


Does anyone have any good recipes or ideas for a pizza without cheese? I'm a pro at pizza making, I've been a manager in a few pizza shops in my lifetime and still "wow" people with my pizzas, especially my chicken & spinach Alfredo pizza with homemade Alfredo sauce, or my grilled BBQ chicken, bacon and ranch pizza using ranch and BBQ sauce in place of tomato sauce.

Obviously those are WAY off-limits for my son. He loves any and every vegetable pretty much.




SO, when I think of recipes, I come to the obvious place...my favorite shaving forum.

 

[Jethro1984]

That's actually a very good question. I know of someone who eats very little cheese on his pizza because of issues with lactose. He has a lot of spinach put on the pizza basically in place of the cheese. I think it looks disgusting but it works for him. Maybe it would work for you too.

 

[maxman]

Nothing odd about that at all!
I'm lactose intolerant and I find that most pizza you can make without cheese.
A nice one to try right away is a bruchetta type pizza.
Make up some fresh bruchetta mix, be easy on the oil, don't add any parmesan.
put it on your crust as the sauce and add appropriate vegetables, maybe some meat if you desire.

Another suggestion when you make pizza with meat, add a little BBQ sauce to the tomato sauce. It punches it up a bit.

If I think of anything else, I'll post.

BTW, when I was a baby my milk allergy caused me severe grief and many medical problems. At one point it was quite severe. Now it is less of a problem for me. I wish your son well. Milk products are not easy to avoid.

 

[Monkeydad]

That's actually a very good question. I know of someone who eats very little cheese on his pizza because of issues with lactose. He has a lot of spinach put on the pizza basically in place of the cheese. I think it looks disgusting but it works for him. Maybe it would work for you too.

We do like spinach, but I don't quite like the idea of AS MUCH spinach as there would be cheese on a pizza. Seems like it would dominate the taste buds with spinach.

 

[Monkeydad]

Nothing odd about that at all!
I'm lactose intolerant and I find that most pizza you can make without cheese.
A nice one to try right away is a bruchetta type pizza.
Make up some fresh bruchetta mix, be easy on the oil, don't add any parmesan.
put it on your crust as the sauce and add appropriate vegetables, maybe some meat if you desire.

Another suggestion when you make pizza with meat, add a little BBQ sauce to the tomato sauce. It punches it up a bit.

If I think of anything else, I'll post.

BTW, when I was a baby my milk allergy caused me severe grief and many medical problems. At one point it was quite severe. Now it is less of a problem for me. I wish your son well. Milk products are not easy to avoid.

No they're not. Most people would be shocked at some things that contain milk. Here's an example: nuts. Yes, Planters nuts...most varieties of the peanuts and every other kind...even some without a "honey roasted"-type coating, just the basic nuts! We get the peanuts out of the barrel with the shells still on; he likes those better anyways.

Every trip to the grocery store means reading EVERY package. I hate the dreaded "may have traces of milk and nuts, processed in a plant that handles milk, nuts, etc..." when it doesn't actually have milk as an ingredient.



ANYWAYS...good suggestion with the bruchetta.

When working in a pizza shop, I did learn from the occasional "no cheese" orders that it helps to bake the dough about half way first, then add the sauces and toppings. If you bake a pizza without cheese completely without cheese, it will dry out the sauce horribly.

Actually, I make my pizzas that way all of the time at home. I'll bake the dough/crust alone for about 7 or 8 minutes with some EVOO, garlic and oregano, then add the rest. Gives a nice crunchy crust and separates the flavors better....especially when I season the crust.

 

[tortswon]

In Provence they make a dish called pistou that is similar to pesto but without the cheese. Here is a recipe I have used and served on pizza.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/kgk/2000/0900/pistou.html#axzz1BKQWY0ze

Best, Sam

 

[Pkrankow]

I am subscribing this thread, my daughter has the same type of allergy, but she got the skin contact level, with the bonus beef allergy! I am tired of the "lactose intolerance" arguments too.

I am glad he gets into veggies, I have problem with my daughter and veggies because before we knew what the problem was she would be sick almost every time she had vegetables because of butter or the whey in most margarine.

Phil

 

[Monkeydad]

In Provence they make a dish called pistou that is similar to pesto but without the cheese. Here is a recipe I have used and served on pizza.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/kgk/2000/0900/pistou.html#axzz1BKQWY0ze

Best, Sam

Sounds great, I'll definitely use this for some bread as a side to pasta.

Thanks.




I'm really looking for something to give him the pizza "experience" without the cheese, so I'm thinking tomatoes are a must.

 

[Monkeydad]

I am subscribing this thread, my daughter has the same type of allergy, but she got the skin contact level, with the bonus beef allergy! I am tired of the "lactose intolerance" arguments too.

I am glad he gets into veggies, I have problem with my daughter and veggies because before we knew what the problem was she would be sick almost every time she had vegetables because of butter or the whey in most margarine.

Phil

Yep, my son doesn't have to eat it...he had a reaction to a high chair in a restaurant that must have had a trace of milk that was missed, or someone switched a spoon from something else into the peas at the buffet. (Hoss's) Never figured that one out.


Luckily his levels have gone down every test and we expect him to out-grow it hopefully this year. We'll find out with his next test results this week. The docs expected him to be over it by age 3-4. He just turned 3.

Never heard of a beef allergy, that's a tough one too. Eliminates so many dishes.



THIS is the only butter he can eat with no milk or whey: PARKAY SQUEEZE

We used to be able to use Smart Balance made with EVOO but they changed it and started using a milk ingredient. Believe me, I've read every butter and margarine container in every store ten times...it's the only one I can find. Convenient when cooking, it's already in a melted form.

 

[Pkrankow]

Willow Run margarine is safe, tastes pretty good too. It is a stick, spreads and cooks very nicely. It is soy based, so I hope that curse is not in your house too.

On the beef, something like 1 in 10 children with a very severe milk allergy get a beef allergy too. At least the beef allergy is mild in comparison.

I feel like I over-react about her getting treats at something, but it is that bad. If I wonder about the cleanliness of tables I leave restaurants. The only time we were ready to use the epi-pen was after dealing with a less than clean table at a restaurant. Happily an oral antihistamine (Zyrtec liquid) did the job.

Phil

 

[Pkrankow]

Here's an easy side dish: Rosemary rice.

1C rice + 2C water per directions
1T olive oil
1-3t rosemary
1/4t salt

combine in rice cooker and cook, or cook on stovetop per rice directions.

One of my 2yo daughter's favorites.

Phil

 

[Edcculus]

I'm pretty sure the traditional Pizza is sans cheese. At least according to my wife's Italian grandmother. She makes a small pizza, probably 8" or so with only tomato sauce. She usually serves it cut up at room temp as an antipasto.


As a side note, can your son have Goat milk or Goat cheese? I know some people with milk allergies or lactose intolerance that can, and some that can't.

 

[ouch]

In the capital of Italy (Brooklyn, New York for you non-Italians) it's traditional to make a pizza with anchovies without cheese. Now I'd just like to see you get your kid to try anchovies.

A better solution would be a great example served at a local pizzeria- grilled chicken caesar salad pizza.

 

[littleton82]

Unfortunately, I can't help you. I am originally from Wisconsin so....not too many lactose intolerant people live up there...lol

 

[Go West Young Man]

If you need a silver lining, you guys will be raising an incredibly healthy kid since he's going to be eating lots of natural, unprocessed foods!

 

[Wemshie]

Right, look on google for a 'pissaladiere' or something similar. It's a French version of pizza, it uses slow cooked onions instead of cheese and has anchovies, olives etc. Maybe a bit grown up for your boy, but damn is it delicious!

 

[ouch]

Right, look on google for a 'pissaladiere' or something similar.

I saw signs for that when I was in France this summer. I thought it was the men's room.

 

[tortswon]

Have you looked at Peter Reinhart's book American Pie? A vegan friend told me there are a lot of recipes that do not require cheese and there are some good red sauce based recipes. Best, Sam

 

[evandood]

I hate the dreaded "may have traces of milk and nuts, processed in a plant that handles milk, nuts, etc..." when it doesn't actually have milk as an ingredient.
+1

My daughter has peanut, tree nut AND mustard allergy's. I wish that their was better food labeling requirements, the may have traces is legalese for we are covered.

 

[clubman]

A baisc pizza marinara (I've always used Marcella Hazan's recipe from her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking) is a standard at our house - it's easy and dairy free without having to resort to soy-cheese, etc.

Here's the recipe from memory, it's pretty basic stuff:

1 can peeled plum tomatoes (real San Marzano ones work great, but they can be $$$ unless you get a deal, pretty much any good brand will work otherwise)
2 cloves garlic sliced as thin as you can (+/- a clove depending on your preference)
minced fresh Oregano
Salt
Olive oil

Drain the liquid from the tomatoes and very coarsely cut them up (halves/quarters) into pan with a little olive oil and salt. Cook at a fairly high heat stirring frequently until they give off most of their liquid (4-5 minutes). Top your dough with the tomato mixture and then the sliced garlic. Bake for 10 minutes or so until done, then remove from oven, top with the fresh oregano, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt. That's it!