The Godfeather pizza

This is my entry for the Pizza Fest 2011 over on ATX Gluten Free.

In my hometown of Chico, California, there is a kitschy little pizza joint called Celestino's, where the service is bad, but you keep going back for the pizza slices. They have an AMAZING pizza there called the Godfather. It is the most glorious gluten filled deliciousness you've ever had. (I LOVE PIZZA). It has a relatively thin crust, (which is gigantic), red sauce, pesto, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and sun dried tomatoes.  It is a large slice of heaven, I assure you.

Well, I haven't been back home in a long time, and even if I had been back, I wouldn't be able to enjoy my favorite pizza place.

But there is one thing that I DO NOT MISS about eating my favorite food. The heaviness I felt afterward, and the immense stomach problems that were inevitable, followed close behind by my unexplainable headaches... (This was before I realized I couldn't tolerate gluten or dairy)...

So, here is my version of the Godfather. I call it the Godfeather because it is a featherweight compared to it's opponent. It's smaller, pint-sized in comparison, and much healthier... it also happens to be gluten, refined sugar, and dairy free. Because it is something my body doesn't try to reject, I feel a hundred pounds lighter after I eat a slice of mine, versus how I felt when I ate the "real" thing.

So, without further ado... I offer you

THE GODFEATHER

For this pizza crust, I simply followed the instructions for making Silvana Nardone's pizza crust in her book Cooking for Isaiah. (I highly recommend this book. It is absolutely 100% worth the investment)!

I made my own pesto, following my pesto recipe, though this time, I omitted the cheese. 

I used about a 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes from one of my favorite stores, (SUNFLOWER FARMERS MARKET).

I also used some freshly diced white mushrooms, (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

I omitted the heavy red sauce that the original Godfather calls for, as well as the ricotta cheese. 


So, take your pizza crust, spread the pesto like you would sauce, then add the sun dried tomatoes and the mushrooms, and top with as much daiya cheese as you want. (By the way, you can add as MUCH or as LITTLE of the toppings that you want). 

My 3 year old, who (heaven knows how this happened) isn't a big pizza fan, scarfed it up. That says a lot, people!

Pop it in the oven, wait as patiently as possible for it to cook, slice it and enjoy!