When I first tore a piece of Nasturtium Leaf into my mouth and chewed it cow-style, the flavor went from 0 to 100. It started slightly sweet, soft, and…well…green like most salad greens. Suddenly a peppery heat crept in, built up, and contorted my face. Aaaand that’s where Nasturtium gets its name—Latin for “Nose Twister.”

If you can’t get your hands on nasturtium leaves, best way to relive this experience is easy—eat some arugula! That’s where I got the inspiration for this recipe. I love topping my pizza with a pile of salad, so I figure nasturtium should work the same. 

I placed a couple leaves on my pizza for a lily pad effect, but next time I would add them liberally for more roughage and crunch. I also got a little carried away with the tomato sauce and ruined the crust-to-sauce ratio. I adjusted the recipe below, but keep in mind the thickness of your pizza crust; the thinner it is, the lighter the layer of sauce should be. 

This is one of those “no recipe” meals, where it’s really up to you how you want to approach it. I wanted to make a simple sauce so the flavor of the nasturtium would shine, but add any topping you like. And note that homemade versus store-bought versions will yield different cooking times and techniques. 

T<3 

~*~ NASTURTIUM LEAF PIZZA ~*~

SERVES: 8 SLICES ⎪ LEVEL: EASY 

Mise en Place 

pizza dough, store-bought or homemade 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

4 orange mini bell peppers, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartet

1 cup pizza sauce, store-bought or homemade 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup bread crumbs 

nasturtium leaves 

lemon

 

Playlist—The Brothers Johnson

 

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1. MAKE TOMATO SAUCE

Preheat the oven to 425F. Sauté the peppers and cherry tomatoes in olive oil until soft. Transfer to a bowl. Add tomato sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in the bread crumbs and Parmesan.

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2. BAKE THE PIZZA

Roll out the pizza dough then evenly spread the tomatoes sauce on it. Transfer pizza to a baking sheet or directly on the rack. Bake until the crust is golden brown. 

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3. SERVE

Garnish with fresh nasturtium leaves. If you have nasturtium flowers, you can garnish with those too. Sprinkle with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cut into slices. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

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~*~ VEGAN VARIATION ~*~

In Step 1, omit the parmesan in the tomato sauce. 

~*~ GLUTEN FREE VARIATION ~*~

In Step 2, omit the bread crumbs and use preferred gluten-free pizza crust. 

 

 

How would you use Nasturtium Leaves? Let me know what you’ve cooked and leave a comment below.