Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Regardless of the smell, you'll be surprised how good it tastes! Dillon and I always celebrate Pi day and not only because we are nerds like that or that we like celebrating the smallest holidays but because Pi day was the day Dillon had officially asked me to be his girlfriend lol. This Pi day marked 8 years from that very day and just for fun here are a couple pictures from that day....
I spent all day torn between whether or not I should make cauliflower crust pizzas or if I should just make homemade pizza dough. In the end, I decided to go the cauliflower route because I knew our body's would thank us later.
For our two medium size pizzas I doubled the recipe, I used a full bag of cauliflower from Costco and after sticking it in the food processor it yielded 6 cups of cauliflower. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Set your oven to 450° and let that preheat while you make the crust. Wash and thoroughly dry a small/medium head of cauliflower (a small head yields about 3 cups). Cut off the florets and pulse in your food processor until you get powdery snow like cauliflower like the picture below.
Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes.
Dump the cauliflower onto a clean tea towel/cheese cloth/thin dish towel that will allow you to wring out liquid. Allow your cauliflower to cool for a bit so it isn't too hot to touch. Once the cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the 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.
Dump cauliflower into a bowl. Now add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Now add your egg and mix away. I've found that using your hands tends to work best.
On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Once your crust mixture is 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 too thin either.
Slide your parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-15 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown and edges start getting a little crispy like the picture below.
Add however much sauce, cheese and toppings you want and slide the parchment paper with your topped pizza back into the oven and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.
Allow your pizza to cool for a minute or two and enjoy your pizza!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients:
1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed. (I used a whole bag of cauliflower from Costco which made 6 cups of processed cauliflower)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 egg
Desired toppings (sauce, cheese, pepperoni etc)
Optionals* a few shakes of crushed red pepper and 1 teaspoon almond meal.
Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don't have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450°. On a cutting board, place a large sheet of parchment paper and spray it with non stick cooking spray.
Wash and thoroughly dry your cauliflower. Pulse in your food processor until you get a powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit. Once the cauliflower is cool enough to touch, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
Dump cauliflower into a bowl. Now add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder then add your egg and mix together. Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don't make it to thick or too thin either.
Slide parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake for 8-15 min. or until it starts to turn golden brown and crispy around the edges. Remove from the oven and add however much sauce, cheese and other toppings onto your crust. Slide your parchment paper back into the oven and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.
Let your pizza cool for a couple minutes then enjoy!