Try that cauliflower crust pizza!

Boy, that cauliflower crust pizza did surprise me! I had read about people saying it was good, but I thought: “Cauliflower crust? Nah… can’t be!!” … Well, after today’s lunch, I have to admit it: “Totally can be!!!”. My cauliflower crust pizza was not just “good”, it was actually DELICIOUS!!! And if you’re worried it might be too complicated, well don’t.

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I’m NOT the kind of person to spend hours in the kitchen, and any recipe with more that five ingredients has a high risk of being dismissed as “too complicated”. I’m more the kind of person that thinks of a dish, looks for the simplified recipe, and then simplifies it further! So fear no more, the cauliflower crust pizza doesn’t require any superpowers, and I’m just about to share the simplified version of the simplified version!

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So here we go!

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Ingredients:

Crust:

About half a cauliflower (enough to fill 3 cups when grated)

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup grated emmenthal

2 eggs

Salt

Pepper

+ Strainer

+ Thin dish towel (or any kind of clean thin cloth)

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Topping:

Tomato sauce

1 mozzarella

1 handful grated Emmenthal cheese

4-5 medium sized basil leaves

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Do you have all of that? Yes? Then we’re ready to start. No? Well, you could still try to simplify my simplified version of the simplified version! (If you do, please let me know how it goes!)

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Step one

First of all, pre-heat your oven at 400° F /200 ° C.

Wash your cauliflower and grate it. You could also use a food processor. I don’t have one, so I had no other choice. I’ve read that grating it gives more texture though.

You will need three cups of grated cauliflower.

Once you’re done, fill a pot with one inch of water. Bring it to boil, and add the cauliflower. Cook for about 5-10 minutes. The recipe I was reading from said 4-5 minutes. But I figured still too hard to I let it cook some more.

When your cauliflower is cooked, line your strainer with the thin dish towel, and pour everything in there. Strain it, and use the cloth to squeeze as much water as you can out.

Easy tip: You could just microwave your cauliflower. That will save you from the straining and the squeezing!

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Step two

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Put your cauliflower in a large mixing bowl.

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Add the grated cheese, two beaten eggs and the chopped garlic clove.

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Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.

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Step 3

Yayyy, we’re almost done. Well, the most difficult part is over!

Take a baking tray, line it with some baking paper, or just grease it.

Then, starting from the centre, spread your cauliflower mix to form a circle (or whichever shape tickles your fancy!).

Bake for … erm.. the recipe said 20 mins, but after 20 mins my cauliflower crust was still pale!

So, bake until golden, like in the picture below. Until then, let’s get some other things done.

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Step 4

While you’re waiting for your cauliflower crust to be golden like the one in the picture, you can start preparing your topping.

Slice one mozzarella ball into thin 4-5 mm slices.

Grate some more Emmenthal cheese (about a handful).

Wash and tear 4-5 medium sized basil leaves into small pieces.

Have a shower.

Watch an episode or two of Grace and Frankie!

I think mine took about 40 minutes.

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Step 5

Once your crust is golden, take it out of the oven.

Be careful not to burn yourself!

Add the tomato sauce, in a spiral shape first, then with a spoon, spread it on your crust, leaving about 2 cm from the border.

Add a handful of grated Emmenthal cheese.

Put your mozzarella slices in a more or less equally distanced way that covers more or less all the area with the tomato sauce.

Add your basil leaves in the same manner.

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Step 6

Put your pizza back in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted.

You might want to move the tray closer to the top of the oven and put the grill function for a couple of minutes on if you want the cheese to get crispier. Be careful though, cos the crust will keep cooking and might burn.

So, pay close attention to your pizza during these last minutes. You don’t want to spoil all that great work you’ve done so far!

Once it’s ready, turn the oven off, take it out, slice it and serve!

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If you’ve done anything differently, please don’t hesitate to share it in the comments. I’m always in for more yumminess… or anything that would save me time! 🙂

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So, remember, this pizza is a great substitute if you’re on a gluten free diet, or simply trying to cut down carbs from your diet. If you’ve got friends who might be interested, feel free to share the recipe with them! You can also use the buttons below to share it on Facebook or Tweeter.

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Ciaooooxxx