Red Lentil Crust Pizza

Ingredients
Pizza Crust
3/4 cup red lentils, soaked overnight
1/2 cup bean water
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt (or to taste)

Pizza Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (8-oz) jar tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. maple syrup (or a sweetener of choice)
1/2 tsp. salt

Toppings
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 yellow bell pepper, diced
4 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/3 cup black olives, sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
vegan mozzarella cheese
cashew Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Pizza Crust
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Place a 12" cast iron pan into the oven as the oven is preheating so the pan heats up as well.
Drain and rinse soaked lentils. Add them to the blender together with water, garlic, baking powder, and salt. Blend until smooth. You'll end up with a batter that looks quite thin and watery: That's okay, it's what you want.
Remove the cast iron pan from the oven and add a little bit of olive oil to the pan. You want the bottom and the sides of the pan to be coated with oil so the crust doesn't stick. Pour the batter into the pan and put the pan back into the oven (onto a rack positioned in the middle of the oven).
Cook the crust for about 30 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool. You should be able to remove the crust from the pan without any problems.

Pizza Sauce
Bring medium saucepan to medium heat, Once hot, add olive oil, onions, and garlic, and saute until translucent over medium heat.
Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients. Turn the heat down to low-medium and allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings to preference. If you’d like a more concentrated tomato flavor, you can continue to simmer the sauce for an additional 15 minutes.
Once cooked, remove the bay leaf.

Toppings
Bring medium saucepan to medium heat, Once hot, add olive oil, bell peppers, mushrooms, and salt. Cook until soft and slightly charred – 10-15 minutes.

Assembly
Top the pizza crust with the prepared pizza sauce, sauteed veggies, and cashew Parmesan cheese (optional). I also like to add chopped black olives.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!