Hawaiian Pizza with Zucchini Crust

Ingredients

Zucchini crust:

2 large zucchini, ends trimmed

Drizzle olive oil

salt and pepper

pizza sauce

2 medium heirloom tomatoes, chopped

½ large red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup sun-dried tomato strips (if tough, soak 10 minutes and drain)

¼ cup fresh basil

2 pitted medjool dates, to taste

1 crushed garlic clove

1 tbsp Italian herbs

½ teaspoon salt

Few pinches red pepper flakes, optional

1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings:

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

½ pound ham steak, finely chopped

½ cup chopped pineapple , fresh or frozen, thawed

½ cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms

¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, optional*

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cut zucchinis in half, width wise, so you have 4 shorter zucchini "tubes.” Slice each half lengthwise into 4 equal "planks."

3. Using your fingers, coat zucchini lightly with olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly tender when pierced with a fork.

4. While zucchini is cooking, combine all pizza sauce ingredients from tomato through olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides, as necessary.

5. Remove zucchini from oven and reduce heat to 375 F.

6. Top each "crust" generously with pizza sauce and equal amounts of bell peppers, ham, pineapple, and mushrooms. Top with parmesan cheese.

7. Return pizza to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until toppings are hot and zucchini reaches desired tenderness.