Sainsbury's Stonebaked Pizza Bases II: Return of the Bases - 13/12/14

A while ago I wrote about these pizza bases from Sainsbury's and how they are the complete tits. Because I liked them so much, I was very quick to use them again, this time in tandem with the cheddar version of the Violife pizza cheese I also wrote about in ^^that^^ post and MOZZARISELLA!!! which is a vegan version of mozzarella cheese. This is the most "real" tasting vegan cheese I have eaten ever ever (and I think I have eaten quite a lot) - it tastes, looks and feels exactly like mozzarella, and it's way better for you as it's completely plant based. Honestly, it's a complete revelation, and it tastes unreal on pizza.

The first pizza we made was pretty much exactly the same as the one in the last post about these bases (sweetcorn and black olives on top, with the additions of the Violife cheddar cheese and the Mozzarisella):

Like last time, it was really tasty and garnishing with basil helped to bring lots of the flavours out. The Mozzarisella really took it up a notch though (I will not stop gushing about this cheese). V good, v tasty.

Pizza rating: 9/10

The other pizza we made, however, was even better. It was a sort of 'spicy meat feast' deal (we had chilli 'beef', fake pepperoni and red chillies on it) and it was so unbelievably dope: 

The spiciness here was what really made it delicious, and in particular the chilli beef was my favourite of all the toppings (vegan chilli beef recipe: put vegan mince in a pan, cook it, fuck a load of hot sauce/liquid smoke/chilli powder/paprika into the pan also, cook it for a bit, put it on the pizza) - it gave such a yummy meaty texture and was overall really tasty. I couldn't really find fault with this pizza: the beef and one red chilli gave the perfect amount of spiciness and I think it might be my favourite home-assembled pizza I have ever had which is cool.

Pizza rating: 9.5/10 (0.5 knocked off because I had to make it myself and also because I had to share it)

I really cannot implore u enough to buy these Sainsbury's pizza bases bc they really take "homemade" pizza to another level. Truly delicious and authentic.

at home with pizza - Cheezly and Tomato // some other next pizza I made ft. Sainsbury's bases and Violife pizza cheese

At the minute I cannot afford to be a fancy lady who is wining and dining on delicious vegan pizzas all the time because I am an idiot student who was really bad at trying to save money in the summer. That however is a story for another day.

What I want 2 talk to you about today is (duh) pizza, and more specifically, homemade pizza. I haven't yet taken the plunge into making my own dough (but when I go home for Christmas I swear down it's gonna happen and when I post about it you will all cry like you have seen the face of God) but I have assembled a number of pizzas over the last few weeks, so I can definitely give you the lowdown on what's good in the world of shop-bought(ish) pizza.

So first of all there was this cheezy lil number, which I bought from Holland and Barrett for probably about £3, and then added peppers and tofu:

This is a pizza made by the company which makes all of the Cheezly cheeses (the ones you can get in Holland and Barrett) and it is pretty yum. Though I would not say that the tomato sauce or the base are anything particularly special (this is not to say that they aren't satisfactory/can't be jazzed up with some herbs and olive oil) it is super convenient to be able to go to the shop and buy a vegan pizza with actual cheese on that you can just freeze and then shove in the oven at your behest. I love being vegan, but it is not often this convenient, so this pizza gets plus points for that. My only real downside to this pizza is that it is quite small and is obviously not ready for the jelly of a seasoned pizza eater such as myself, as I could probably easily eat three pizzas this size in one sitting. In all though, I was into this Cheezly pizza/would eat it again/am interested to try the 'meatless feast' variety. 

Pizza rating: 7/10

This takes me onto the second pizza that this post will cover:

This pizza was more of a self-assembly job, but considering the toppings were sweetcorn and olives, it was not very labour intensive. Just letting you know in case you were worried I was putting myself through extreme trauma in the name of pizza. (FYI I would probably put myself through minor trauma for pizza i.e. like maybe I would stub my toe or stand on a plug) I have made lots of this kind of pizza and written about it on this here blog before, but with this one I do actually believe I have perfected the art of the assemble-at-home vegan pizza, because I have found both the optimum crust and cheese. 

The baby angels over at Sainsbury's (big up yourselves Sainsbury's honestly) have, in their Italian section of the fridges, started stocking freshly stonebaked pizza bases which you can top yourself at home. I think that everyone can agree, this is a complete gamechanger. Whilst the types of self-assembly pizza bases you can buy in boxes are okay, they never ever pack that authentic crunch of the crust that you always get with a stone bake. Sainsbury's have changed all of that. They have changed everything. *Prayer hands emoji* 

However, to add to my elation (lol), I also happen to have finally found a truly great vegan pizza cheese (it rivals my love of Tofutti Mozzarella style slices and also smells way less terrible/is not slimy) - take a bow VIOLIFE PIZZA STYLE. A truly cheese-like vegan cheese which is also soy free if that's what you like, it melts absolutely great and gives a very authentic cheesy flavour and texture. I'm also pretty sure it's what Basilico use on their vegan pizzas, so there's that. Put together, this cheese and a Sainsbury's stonebaked base created a pizza that I absolutely love and which will be my home cooked pizza standard for a while to come I think. It reminded me of the Pizza Express shop bought pizzas which I used to absolutely love before I went vegan, so that was a nice trip down memory lane for me. 

Basically, meat/dairy eater or not, get to Sainsbury's and make a pizza on one of these bases bc it will be a tru party in your mouth. And not a shit party either, like one after a christening. I mean a properly sick one, like that one New Year's Eve house party which is actually good and makes you disappointed on every New Year's that follows it. 

Pizza rating: 9/10

That is it from me now folks - until next pizza xoxo

some next Sainsbury's pizza - 10/4/14

I feel like this pizza looks way shittier than it actually was. My mom bought it for me because the only foods she knows I like are pizza, Bombay potatoes and Jelly Tots. Even though we all know that the king of all shop bought pizzas is Pizza Express (that sauce *heart eyes emoji*), I feel sort of sad that the humble own-brand pizza does not get enough love because they are usually about 2 quid and fairly nice.

Something I really wanna praise this pizza for is the base. As you can see, there isn't much of an actual crust, but underneath this pizza cooked really well, and it was all golden so that when you bit into it there was a tiny bit of crispiness which I was definitely about. Something I was not about was the uneven cheese distribution on this pizza but I think for £2 I cannot complain. 

The sauce was pretty standard tomato but who has ever hated on that? The cheese was apparently cheddar and mozzarella but tbqh with you neither was hugely flavourful. It was still a pretty pleasant pizza experience though, and I would like to give a shout out to my moms for buying this dish from Sainsbury's in Acocks Green for me: ty mom. 

Pizza rating: 6/10

(srsly though for the price it was completely dope)