Vegetarian pizza

You don’t need to look further than an authentic Italian restaurant’s menu for inspiration. Pizza ortolana is an obvious choice which directly translates to ‘the greengrocer’s pizza’. In its most basic form, toppings include eggplant, zucchini, fresh basil, generous slices of buffalo mozzarella (make sure to double check if rennet is used in the cheesemaking process if you’re creating a vegetarian dinner) and a light drizzle of olive oil right before serving. A ricotta, sundried tomato and baby spinach combo is also highly recommended, and fully vegetarian.

Generally, no. Most mozzarellas, like many other cheeses, use rennet (an enzyme that is extracted from an animal’s stomach) during the cheesemaking process. The good news is that rennet-free mozzarella is relatively easy to obtain and works especially great for pizzas due to its softer texture. If the label doesn’t specifically state that the cheese is vegetarian, check the list of ingredients and avoid anything that says ‘animal enzyme’, ‘rennet’ or ‘enzymes’.

The majority of cheeses contain rennet, an enzyme found in the fourth stomach of herbivorous animals that is used to separate the milk’s solid curds from the liquid whey. Softer cheeses like paneer, ricotta and cream cheese typically don’t use rennet but it’s always safer to check the label. If not specifically labelled as vegetarian, go through the list of ingredients. Rennet is often listed as ‘animal enzyme’, while vegetarian cheeses will typically say ‘microbial enzyme’ or ‘vegetarian enzyme’.

While black olives are a more typical pizza topping, there is no reason to not reach for the green variety instead. Some argue that green olives – which are typically cured instead of cooked – are meant to be eaten raw and thus don’t belong on a pizza. Their ripened siblings, black olives, are not as bitter and milder in flavour, making them a less overpowering topping when it comes to pizza. Experiment with both and see which one your family prefers!