Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Source: eat-drink-smile.com via Tara on Pinterest

If you stalk around on Pinterest like I do; you have most certainly seen numerous 'pins' for a Cauliflower Pizza Crust.  I of course 'pinned' it and wanted to give it a try.
I mean, really a sorta healthier version of pizza....YES PLEASE!
I very much enjoy pizza, my family very much enjoys pizza.  I've been making my own crust for some time.  We tend to like a nice thin whole wheat crust with a variety of toppings.
So with all my extra cauliflower this week I was determined to make the Cauliflower Pizza Crust.
It was really very easy to make.  I 'riced' the cauliflower and steamed it in the microwave earlier in the day so it would be cooler to handle when I was ready to make the pizza. 
My 'riced' cauliflower equaled about 3 cups so I made two pizza crusts, one smaller and one bigger.  I actually followed the recipe with the exception that I did mozzerella cheese and pepper jack cheese in the crust.
The crust came together nicely on my pizza stones and baked as the recipe indicated.  I assembled my pizza's and broiled them on the bottom rack as I had made them earlier in the day and they did need to heat thru.
The difference with the cauliflower crust, it doesn't hold up like a regular crust, you can't just pick the pizza up in your hand and eat it.  It is totally a knife and fork dinner.
My family really enjoyed it.  My kids didn't even realized it was cauliflower.  My boy had 3 pieces; with no cheese as he tells me cheese tastes like worms.  I'm not sure how he figures or knows that, but really, I'm not gonna argue about cheese on his pizza, I just make his half with out cheese and he pounds it back, no complaints; including the broccoli on it or what ever concoction I've put together that day.  So if he doesn't want the extra fat of the cheese, really why argue when he eats everything else and is happy with dinner....cheese-less.
My husband really liked it, but wanted to 'hold' the pizza and wonders if I can figure how to make firmer to hold together more like an actual pizza crust.
I am tired of cauliflower, I now realize why I really never buy it.  I'm not a big fan of it.  The crust was fine, it tasted fine.  BUT...I'm a carb lover and I missed the regular pizza crust.  The chewy goodness of the carbs, even with a thin crust....mmmmm.
I was very happy to have a cauliflower free dinner tonight....tomorrow night....cauliflower fritters....*sigh*

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Serves 2; Adapted from Your Lighter Side.

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).
Enjoy!
*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

Note for those that don’ t have a microwave:
You can steam the florets on the stove before ricing them. The texture/consistency won’t be the same (It will be more like a puree) but it still works fine once you mix all the ingredients together! I know because I’ve tried it that way too!

Pasta with Cauliflower

So I mentioned that I had gotten 3 heads of organic cauliflower when I hardly ever buy cauliflower.  I needed to come up with some ways to use all this beautiful cauliflower up.
I came across this recipe on Pinterest; Pasta with Cauliflower.  I had it in my food file there, so I figured I would give it a try.

Pasta with Cauliflower

• 2 Tbs. salt
• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets, then coarsely chopped
• 8 Tbs. olive oil *I used only 4 Tbs
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 6 to 8 green onions, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp. minced fresh marjoram   *I used fresh organic basil
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley  *I didn't have flat leaf, just the common variety
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3/4 lb. conchigliette or other small pasta shells   *Rotini
• 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs   *I didn't have this...opps
 

Cook the cauliflower
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and cauliflower to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the cauliflower to a colander to drain; set aside. Return the water to a boil.

Make the sauce
In a large fry pan over medium-low heat, warm 4 Tbs. of the oil. Add the garlic, green onions, marjoram basil and red pepper flakes and sauté until the onions are wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower, parsley and broth. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the cauliflower is lightly colored and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. **I used a potato masher to mash up to cauliflower more

Cook the pasta
Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Add as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. **I didn't need any

In a small fry pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 4 Tbs. oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the pasta and serve. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta, by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006).

  I was worried this would not be very good.  However, everyone liked it; even my son who was sick with no appetite, ate a bit of it. 

I had planned for this to be a meatless meal, but my husband asked for some farmer sausage with it.  That was fine with me, I only had a little bit of the meat as we had an abundance of wonder organic vegetables.

This turned out to be a wonderful yummy surprise!  Worth a try!