Pizza with a twist

Think of this as a pizza that’s neat to eat. Instead of toppings being piled over a crust, they’re sandwiched between spring-roll wrappers to make a single-serve quasi-pizza, or perhaps think of it as a quesadilla pizza.

Cut into wedges, eaten by hand, it’s filling and fun to consume. It’s gotta be related to pizza, right?

Moon Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cubed sweet potato

• 1/2 cup cubed pumpkin or kabocha squash

• 1/2 cup cubed carrot

• 1/2 cup cubed russet potato

• 8-10 button mushrooms, chopped

• 4 spring roll skins (often sold as lumpia wrappers)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Ingredients for seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon mushroom seasoning (found in Asian markets)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon white pepper

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

• 1 lime leaf, chopped

• Leaves from 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

• 1 chile pepper, chopped

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 1/3 cup water

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Steam sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots and potato cubes with chopped mushrooms for 10 minutes, until tender.

Add seasoning ingredients and mix to make a filling.

Sandwich half the filling between 2 spring roll skins, and fry on both sides until golden and crisp. Repeat with remaining filling and spring roll skins.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together.

Cut pizza into 8 wedges and serve with sauce for dipping.

Serves 2.

Approximate nutrient analysis per serving (without dipping sauce): 310 calories, 16 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1250 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 6 g protein. Nutritional analysis provided by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation is an international nonprofit with a local office in Kaimuki. Its mission of community service includes the promotion of a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. To learn more, visit facebook.com/hawaiitzuchi or call 808-737-8885.