So I got a little wicked crazy this weekend and decided to splurge on some pizza. We do gluten-free carry out around here sometimes, but my future son-in-law inspired me to make my own cauliflower pizza crust. He made it for his family a few weeks ago and it looked amazing. I have done cauliflower fried rice and mashed potatoes before but I’ve never been much of a baker. This seemed a little intimidating! But, I’m always up for an adventure and challenge.
So here are the ingredients that I used:
1 medium-sized head of cauliflower
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 small shake of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon coconut flour (optional but I used)
So you start by placing your pizza stone in the oven (I used a baking sheet) and pre heated it to 450 degrees
Then place a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board and spray with nonstick cooking spray (I used coconut oil spray)
Wash and dry the cauliflower/ cut off the florets and then pulse in the food processor ( my NINJA worked great)
Place it in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 4 minutes
When cooled — dump the cooked cauliflower into a towel and wring all the water out of it. HINT — don’t use paper towels like I did — (A big shout out to my fab patients Gene and Cheryl that suggested using the towel) I didn’t get my cauliflower dried out enough which made my dough a little too wet –I was able to add coconut flour to dry it out some.
NEXT –make the dough
Dump the cauliflower in a bowl with the 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup mozzarella, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not salt) and a dash of red pepper
Then add the egg and mix away. I ended up adding 1 Tbsp of coconut flour (you could also use almond) to thicken the dough up since I hadn’t dried the cauliflower well enough.
Then form the dough into a crust and pat it down on the parchment paper (not too thick or too thin)
Slide the parchment paper onto your stone or baking sheet and cook 8-11 min until golden brown
Then remove from the oven and add your toppings and cook for another 5-7 minutes until cheese is bubbly
Then let it cool for a minute or two before cutting (this is crucial)
I added some homemade sauce (see instructions below), some shaved parmesan, fresh-cut mozzarella, tomato, and fresh-cut basil from my garden.
For the Sauce–
I took about 10 Roma tomatoes and cut an X on the skin with a knife.
Then drop them in boiling water for about 45 sec and pull them out. You can easily remove the skin from the cut areas.
Add those back in the pot with whatever other ingredients you prefer. I added a red onion, 3 cloves garlic, fresh oregano, basil, and chives from the garden and some roasted red pepper with a dash of sea salt and pepper.
I let this simmer for about 3 hours on low heat.
So here are my takeaways:
It’s ok to splurge every now and again and try a new adventure in cooking!
The pizza was definitely palatable and I will try it again. I didn’t get the texture just right and had to eat it with a fork (it was less chewy/more crumbly). I think it would work better with a pizza stone rather than a baking sheet. But that’s just my opinion.
Leave me some comments below on new healthy cooking adventures or mistakes you have made! We are all in this together!
