Fruity Pizza with Mascarpone Yogurt Sauce

I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes. It's so incredible in the morning, sitting in front of an open window, sunlight streaming in with a cup of coffee. But please feel free to eat this anytime you get a hankering! The sauce is a mixture of creamy, locally made mascarpone, vanilla yogurt, local honey and fresh, sweet basil. The resulting combination is creamy, sweet and slightly floral, just like a dessert pizza sauce should be. The mascarpone is an Italian sweet cream, similar to cream cheese but softer and sweeter. My favorite local creamery, Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery sells one that is what I imagine a spoonful of heaven to taste like! Click on the link to check out their amazing story and their other wonderful products.

 The crust is a crunchy and sesame flavored Spanish torta called, Rosales torta de aceite, which means "oil cake." Rosales makes a whole line of them, they are made with healthy olive oil and then bruleéd with a bit of raw sugar to give them a sweet and savory taste, we eat them all the time and just adore them. This particular flavor was a Seville orange, so it had a slightly bitter orange flavor that went so well with the mandarins. They are a wonderful company that does more than just make delicious products and if choosing to buy a "crust" for our pizza why not choose a socially responsible one!

I topped the pizza with a combination of fruit that gave the pizza a range of textures and flavors. Creamy, intensely sweet bananas, slightly crisp, crunchy and less sweet strawberries and then burst in your mouth, tangy mandarins. These flavors went so well together, but feel free to change up the fruits and use whatever is your favorite. For me the fair trade bananas were on sale and the organic strawberries are a favorite of my two year old so we always have them. The last topping, organic, shredded coconut, not only tasted amazing with the fruit and creamy sauce but it also mimicked a "cheese" component. It was so cute and delicious!

This recipe makes 4 pizzas.

Ingredients


Pizza 

4 Rosales tortas de aceite, Seville orange flavor.
4 Organic strawberries, chopped into rounds.
1 Mandarin, peeled and segmented, slice segments in half lengthwise.
1 Fair trade banana, sliced thinly.
4 Tbsp organic, shredded coconut, sweetened.

Sauce

1/3 Cup organic, low-fat vanilla yogurt, I used Wallaby french vanilla.
1/3 Cup organic mascarpone Italian cheese, I used Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery.
1 Tbsp local honey
1 tsp mandarin zest
1 Tbsp fresh, organic basil, chopped finely.

Directions

In a small bowl combine all ingredients for the sauce and whisk till smooth and creamy.

Remove 4 tortas from plastic paper, or whatever you are using for your crust...If you cannot find the Rosales I suggest these healthy alternatives: whole wheat tortilla lightly toasted in an oven till crispy,
pita pocket toasted, whole wheat pizza crust rolled out thin and baked till crispy.

Spread 2 Tbsp of sauce on each torta.

Top each with even amounts of the chopped fruits and shredded coconut (1 Tbsp for each).

Sit by an open window in a sunny area, and enjoy your healthy fruit pizza with a hot coffee or tea!