Cauliflower Pizza recipe

• Ali

Is Cauliflower Pizza really as good as the hype?

I've read a lot about Cauliflower Pizza and to be honest I was a bit sceptical. Miss H loves Pizza. She's a teenager so despite our healthy living lifestyle if given a choice she would opt for a pizza as a treat every time.  Perhaps because I’ve probably always been gluten intolerant but never realised it or had it diagnosed I’ve never been a big fan of pizza. But cauliflower pizza has been a revelation.

We’ve been making cauliflower rice and cauliflower couscous for a long time but I just couldn’t get my head around pizza dough. Until now that is. I’ve been experimenting and come up with a recipe that even Miss H thinks is lovely. If you don’t tell them I think it’s hard to say it’s not real dough. Of course you don’t get the risen crust that you get with a traditional dough but then you don’t get the bloated tummy after eating it either!

Have a go and let me know what you think. And of course share your favourite toppings. We’re always game for a bit of creative invention!

Ingredients

Base

1 cauliflower head

100g ground almonds

2 eggs beaten

2 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

Cracked black pepper

To make the base

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
2. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end, then cut into chunks. Blitz half the cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped, like rice. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining half. Tip all the cauliflower in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on High for 5-6 mins until softened.
3. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, at least 10 minutes in my opinion, scrunch up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cauliflower, then transfer to a clean bowl.
4. Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano and plenty of seasoning. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease with oil.
5. Mound the cauliflower mix into the centre of the tray, then use a spoon and your hands to spread out into a 30cm round. I like to keep it about ½ cm thick to ensure there is enough substance to the base to lift it from the try once cooked. Make it a little thicker at the edges to create a ‘crust’. Bake for 15-18 mins until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges.
6. Once the pizza base is done, turn the oven up to 240C/220C fan/gas 8

 

Once you’ve added your topping a further 10 – 12 minutes baking is enough to get a firm crust.

Tomato sauce Topping

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 small onion chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tea spoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

To make the sauce

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion. Once it has gone translucent add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs and continue to cook until it has reduced by at least half.
2. Set aside until pizza base is ready.

To make the pizza

1. Once pizza base and topping are ready spread a generous amount of tomato sauce all over pizza base ensuring you go right to the edges or they will catch and burn.

Pizza Topping Options - choice of 

125g mozzarella - if not dairy free

25g Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese - if not dairy free

onion

red, yellow or green pepper

mushroom

artichoke hearts - these are great if you're dairy free as they add moisture

courgette

pineapple

tuna

chicken

olives

chilli

 

Top with grated Grana Padano then add toppings of your choice. Sliced onion, pepper, olives, cooked chicken, tinned tuna etc

Top with grated mozzarella or another strong flavoured Italian cheese.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until piping hot and the cheese has melted.