Monday, January 7, 2013

Cauliflower Crust Pizza



As I mentioned in the previous post, Lauren and I love to bake together. I also mentioned that we made Paleo Nut Bread, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies over Christmas break. 

This pizza was perfect, seriously delicious. I plan to make it again and again, and it was so easy too! Lauren originally found the recipe here, but of course we tweaked it. Her crust seemed very un-crust-like, so we decided squeezing the cauliflower in a dish towel would do the trick of getting the extra liquid out. This gets rid of every last bit of unwanted moisture and allows the crust to firm up. We also topped it differently since neither of us wanted bacon and we had no spinach in the house. Our toppings included kale, chicken, onions, and green peppers. Since I don't eat cheese, we made it without cheese, but feel free to add it if you want. For that matter, feel free to top it with whatever you want!



Makes two 9-inch pizza crusts

Ingredients:


Cauliflower Crust:

1 Head cauliflower
2 Egg whites
Spoonful of coconut flour
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning (oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage)

Toppings:

Tomato basil pizza sauce
Kale
Chicken
Spinach
Onions
Black olives
Green peppers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Rinse and grate cauliflower into a rice-like texture using cheese grater
3. Put cauliflower "rice" in a large pot, add a small amount of water, and steam till soft.
4. Drain then put cauliflower in thin dish towel and squeeze out rest of liquid. Let cool.
5. Take your cooled down cauliflower and add spices, eggs whites and spoonful of coconut flour to bind it. Mix and separate into even portions.
6. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Mold each portion into a pie crust on your paper and place into hot oven.
7. Cook crust for 10-15 minutes or until it feels firm (it will depend on how thick you make the pies and how wet the cauliflower is.)
8. While crust is cooking cut up toppings and brown in pan over stove.
9. Take crust out of oven, add sauce, and layer your toppings. Put back in oven for 5 more minutes.