Cauliflower Crust Pizza 16-Nov-2014

Another alternative crust pizza, this time with cauliflower!

This is from The Lucky Penny Blog. Go read this recipe there as there’s a whole lot of pictures, great commentary, and general fun. Plus, it’s good to give credit where credit is due!

Makes one approx. 10-12 inch pizza

Ingredients

• 1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush it even more between your fingers)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crust it even more between you fingers)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• optional a few shakes of crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg

• optional 1 tablespoon almond meal

• Desired amount of sauce, cheese for topping, and other toppings.

Directions

Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.

Wash and throughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets, you don’t need much stem. Just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.

Put the cauliflower back into a bowl. Add parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper if you want.

Add an egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best.

Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

Using a cutting board slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8 - 11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want.

Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.

Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!