Low carb pizza

Low carb pizza

If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, then you saw the recipe for the crusty artisan bread that I posted earlier.  My husband loves to make bread of all types, white, whole grain and multigrain.  Unfortunately, all this bread has consequences.  His doctor advised him last year to cut back on the carbs.  Drat!  No bread. No pizza.  Bah!

So I came up with this low carb version of pizza last year which is made from, yes, cauliflower.  Let me just preface this by saying, although we LOVE vegetables in this house, I doubt that a cauliflower has ever crossed our threshold since we’ve lived here…30+ years.  Blech.  A white vegetable that isn’t potatoes?  No way.

However, we are open-minded people so I did some research and this is what I came up with.  No, it does not taste like cauliflower…at all!  Yes, it does taste like yummy pizza.  If you’re watching your carbs, give this recipe a try.  You might like to make two crusts if you’re going to the trouble.  You’ll want to repeat this again.

Ingredients:

• One large head of cauliflower
• One egg
• Goat cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Decorations for the actual pizza, your choice– your favorite sauce, herbs and spices, peppers, onions, olives, garlic, sausage, pepperoni, veggie crumbles, cheeses (Romano, mozzarella, etc.)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven 425 degrees
2. Cut up cauliflower into same size flourettes
   

   Cauliflower flourettes

3. Add ½ c water, cover with plastic wrap with one side open to let out steam, and steam in microwave until medium soft, about 15 minutes. You may need to stir these every five minutes or so.  It shouldn’t be mushy but just al dente.
4. Run through food processor until just riced, (not mashed). You may have to do this in batches.
   

   Steamed flourettes after ricing in food processor, about 20 seconds

5. Place riced cauliflower in clean, dry kitchen towel, stir a bit to let cool, then squeeze ALL the water out that you can. The more you squeeze, the crustier your pizza crust will be.
   

   Riced, steamed cauliflower in clean, dry towel before squeezing

   

   Squeezing out moisture from the steamed, riced cauliflowe

   

   Riced, steamed cauliflower after squeezing moisture out.

6. Add egg, goat cheese, salt and pepper and stir.
7. Press onto parchment-lined pan. You want about ¼ inch with a little higher crust on the edges.
   

   Cauliflower Pizza crust, baked

8. Bake 20-25 minutes or until browned on the edges.
9. Decorate pizza as usual with your favorite toppings.
10. Lower temp of oven to 375 and bake for another 20-25 minutes until it looks like a pizza.

11. 

    Cauliflower Pizza, final, baked.

There you go! You’ll be surprised that you can actually hold this like a piece of regular pizza. It does NOT taste like cauliflower.  Manga!