Vegan Black Trumpet Mushroom and Leek Pizza
With all our rain this year, we’ve been having an amazing year for black trumpets. So what better way to celebrate the bounty than with vegan black trumpet mushroom and leek pizza! This recipe really highlights the delicious but somewhat subtle black trumpet flavors, by leaving them in large pieces you can really enjoy. Mild leeks are a perfect pairing to the black trumpet mushrooms, and the whole dish is given a lift with a leek green pesto- it’s also a great way to use the whole leek and reduce waste! At the bottom we have a simple yet delicious spreadable almond cheese sauce, that really brings the whole pizza together. Make a simple crust at home, or start with a store-bought crust to speed it up a little. Either way, enjoy this celebration of the beautiful black trumpet mushrooms with this light, summery pizza.
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How to Identify Black Trumpet Mushrooms
Black trumpet mushrooms are fairly small, with thin flesh. You can often find them in the summer and fall, under the shade of hardwood trees and often right on the edge of the trail. They tend to prefer damp soil. When you find one, look around for more, as they tend to sprawl across the forest floor. Like their name suggests, black trumpets can be black- but are also found in shades of brown and grey. The mushrooms are shaped like small funnels (or the bell of a trumpet!), and have thin flesh. As they age, the edges of the mushroom will often ripple and then split. The flesh should feel soft and firm, and not at all mushy- if you’ve got mushy or bug nibbled mushrooms, you’re too late on this batch. But come back, because trumpets tend to come up in the same places year after year. Very few mushrooms look like black trumpets- the only thing I’ve ever found that I might consider a “lookalike” would be some other mushroom that had died. From far away, similarly sized mushrooms the have started to decompose might look a little like trumpets, but a closer inspection should clarify that for you pretty quickly.
Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I may not always include all the information needed to make an ID, and can’t responsible for the accuracy of your identification. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.
Cooking Black Trumpet Mushrooms
Black trumpet mushrooms have a delicious, savory, earthy, mushroom flavor. They’re closer in flavor to a truffle than say, a shiitake. To clean them, cut off the little bottom bits that were in the dirt (ideally do this out in the field, so you’re not taking the dirt home with you) and pick out any leaves, pine needles, or any other non-mushroom bits you may have accidentally collected. Store the trumpets in a paper bag in the fridge. When ready to cook, place your mushrooms in a bowl of cool water and gently swish around to remove dirt. The are very thin-fleshed, and do best when cooked quickly. They won’t get that same crispy, caramelization other larger mushrooms get, but when cooked too much they start to shrink into nothing and loose a lot of there deliciousness. I love to dry black trumpet mushrooms, and powder them (sometimes as a salt- recipe below), because it allows me to use it as a spice, something what works amazingly. For this pizza we didn’t pre-cook the mushrooms at all, and just let them cook for 15 minutes in the oven.
Looking for Black Trumpet Recipes? Try one of these!
Looking for Vegan Pizza Recipes? Try one of these!
- Vegan Pumpkin Pizza with Kale
- The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Pizza Recipe
- Bouquet of Roses Beet & Radish Salad Pizza
- Simple Buckwheat Pizza Dough
- Vegan Caramelized Onion and Fennel Pizza
- Crispy Kale White Vegan Pizza with Mushrooms
- Arugula Topped Mushroom Flatbreads
How to Make Vegan Black Trumpet Mushroom Pizza
This pizza has a few components you need to make. They are:
- The pizza dough can be bought from the store (I often get mine at Trader Joe’s in the refrigerated section), or you can use the simple recipe I’ve included. Just remember it needs to rise for an hour. Pro tip- you can actually cut that time in half, if you use your instant pot. Just add a little water to the pot, and place your dough inside in a separate bowl on the steaming rack. Use the yogurt setting, and cover with a lid for 30 minutes.
- The almond cheese is made with softened almonds, blended together with nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and a couple other bits and pieces. Simple and delicious.
- Sautéed leeks are made by very simply sautéing the white parts of the leeks with a little garlic until tender.
- Leek green pesto is made by blending up the tougher green parts of the leeks. We don’t bake the pesto, but put it over the pizza after it’s been cooked. If you’re having trouble getting this blended finely enough, I found an emersion blender works really well here.
- Black Trumpet Mushrooms are the easiest part. All these need are a quick rinse, and if you have large mushrooms like mine you might want to tear them in half.
Once you have all of your components prepared, you can assemble your pizza. Start by stretching out the dough onto a baking sheet, or a pizza paddle if you use a pizza stone. Add the almond cheese first, spreading it in an even layer across the pizza. Sprinkle the leeks and black trumpet mushrooms over the top- if it looks like too many black trumpets, don’t worry about it as they will shrink a good amount in the oven. Now bake! After about 15 minutes, your crust should have a golden color and you’re ready to go. Take the black trumpet pizza out of the oven, and top with your leek pesto. Dig in!
Vegan Black Trumpet Mushroom and Leek Pizza
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. instant yeast
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp. salt
- Green half from one leek (reserve whites for pizza)
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- White half of leek (reserve greens for pesto)
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 25-50g. fresh black trumpet mushrooms
Instructions
- Start with the dough. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water, stir and set aside for 5 minutes. Combine the flour and salt and whisk together. Add the olive oil and yeast-mixture, and combine. On a clean, well-floured surface, kneed your dough for 3-4 minutes until it is soft and not sticky, and when poked the dough slowly rises up again. Lightly oil a bowl, and place the dough inside in a warm location for about an hour.
- In the meantime, soften your almonds by soaking them overnight, or boil them in water for 30 minutes, or soften in your instant pot for 15 minutes. Drain your softened almonds, and add them to a blender along with all the other ingredients for your almond cheese, plus ¼ cup water. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside. To make your leek pesto, chop your leek in half with the white and light green parts on one half, and the darker green on the other. Combine the darker green half with all the ingredients for the pesto, and blend until no chunks remain. Set aside.
- Cut the white and light green half of the leeks in half the long way, and then cut down the length to make thin half-moons. Mince the garlic. In a small skillet, use a little olive oil on medium-heat, stirring frequently. Once the leeks have softened and are fragrant, remove from the heat. Rinse your black trumpet mushrooms to clean, and set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Prepare a 12–14-inch round tray with a silicone mat, parchment paper, or cornmeal, and stretch the dough to cover. Spread the almond cheese across the crust, and sprinkle the cooked leeks and garlic. Add the black trumpets, placing them easily around the crust. Place in the oven, and bake for around 15 minutes. Remove, smear or dollop with leek green pesto, and serve. Finish with black trumpet salt, for some added deliciousness!
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