February 2012

I’m always on a constant search to find new ways to enjoy food…and get my husband to eat vegetables. This is the perfect recipe for both because the one thing I really miss in my life is pizza. Until now, we’ve been making pizzas on bagel thins or English muffins, but I worry about the carbohydrate intake. Needless to say, we don’t have those too often.

The cauliflower pizza crust was something my husband was definitely weary of because he doesn’t do a lot of veggies. But I heard no complaints from him and he actually enjoyed it. Please remember that the cauliflower crust is not like bread and you may not be able to pick it up and eat it like real pizza.

Also, I adapted the recipe below to suit my needs. Here is how I did it:

1. I used frozen cauliflower. I steamed it in my steamer for about 10 minutes and used my Oster 3-in-1 Hand blender to chop it up. *If you don’t have a hand blender, you should definitely get one. It’s something that I use often and saves so much time. You can make soups, chop things…it’s just the best!

2. I didn’t use a cup of cheese; I used a 1/4 cup Fat Free Mozzarella cheese. In my opinion, a full cup of cheese seems like too much just for the crust considering you’re going to put toppings on your pizza too and cheese is bound to be one of those toppings. This is the easiest way to cut fat. But I’m huge on portion size, so that may just be my issue.

3. I substituted two egg whites for the egg. Just makes it a little healthier, cuts the calories and cholesterol and works just the same.

4. And I didn’t use the extra virgin olive oil. Even though it’s a good fat, I try to say away from it. If it bothers you that your crust doesn’t brown then maybe you could try an egg white egg wash or something. I just left the crust in the over a little longer so it would brown.

5. Garlic salt is a no no to me. I just chopped up some fresh garlic with the with the cauliflower.

Recipes are just a road map to making something your own. I have included the original recipe below. You might not want to take my suggestions so I wanted to include the original recipe. And your toppings should be precooked before putting them on the crust.

Recipe courtesy of Eat.Drink.Smile

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

Directions:

To “Rice” the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9″ round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Tagged as: cauliflower pizza crust, food, healthy food, pizza

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