Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Don't worry, you read the title correctly.  This is a recipe for CAULIFLOWER pizza crust.  I had your same gut reaction too - Who would possibly come up with such a thing, and how could it taste any good?  I love pizza, and I was unsure that anything other than wheat-flour-doughy yumminess could compare.

Well, I was wrong.

Now, don't get me wrong, this won't replace my undying love for Papa John's pizza.  However, I feel like this is a great alternative for a night when I want pizza but I don't want anything too heavy or too unhealthy.  

Before you shake your head and click over to the next recipe, think about this: a serving of this pizza will give you two full servings of veggies (or more depending on how much you put on top).  It is lower in carbs than a regular pizza, and it is gluten-free for those of you who can't digest the gluten well.  You can't argue with those positives, can you?

I don't promise that this tastes exactly like regular pizza crust.  It definitely doesn't taste like cauliflower though.  I described it to my neighbor as tasting kind of like cheesy bread.  I promise, if you tried it without knowing what it was, the thought of veggies in your crust would never cross your mind.  What a perfect way to trick veggie-hating children (or husbands!).

adapted from eat.drink.smile

Here's What You Need:

for crust

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower (see below for the how-to)

1 cup part skim-low moisture mozzarella cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp red pepper flakes

extra virgin olive oil

for toppings

1 cup part skim-low moisture mozzarella cheese

favorite pizza sauce

any veggies of your choosing (I used onions, peppers, and sun-dried tomatoes)

Here's What You Do: 

Ricing the cauliflower

Obviously, giant chunks of cauliflower are not going to make a good crust.  You have to prepare the cauliflower to make the dough.

Take one large, fresh head of cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and cut into florets.  Put the florets into a food processor and puree until it looks like rice.  (Mine actually looks more like cous-cous).

Take one cup of the "riced" cauliflower and put into a microwavable bowl.  Microwave on  high for two minutes.  Your cauliflower is now ready.  My head of cauliflower produced about 3 1/2 cups, so you can make multiple pizzas!

Making the pizza

Heat oven to 450F.  Lightly spray pizza pan or baking sheet.

Take your cup of hot riced cauliflower and mix in a bowl with one cup of the cheese and the egg.  Add oregano, garlic salt, and red pepper flakes.  Transfer to your pizza pan, and with your hands, spread out the mixture.  Mine made about a 10" pizza.

Lightly baste the top with extra virgin olive oil to help it brown.  Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Once you take it out, top with your sauce, cheese, and toppings.  Stick back in the oven for 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Make sure to cook your veggies ahead of time, if  needed, since you are only getting it hot enough to melt the cheese.

Voila!  You have a yummy pizza!  Let it cool for five minutes before eating.  Keep in mind that this makes a thin crust, so you may do better eating with a fork than picking it up with your hands.

Makes 2 servings.