cauliflower pizza "crust"

Well, I hate to do this to y'all, but I am going to have to give you two similar recipes two days in a row.  That's part of the trouble for cooking for one or two - you end up with a lot of leftover ingredients that have to be used before they go bad.  I can't stand throwing out good produce, so I try to use up my ingredients right away, lest I forget.

As I have said before, I am a bit of a pizza fanatic.  In fact, the day I unlocked the Level 3 Pizzaiolo badge on Foursquare was one of my proudest moments in recent memory.  And I would have been even prouder if it were somewhere respectable, but alas, I was at Pizza Movers.  At 2:30 in the morning.

So when I took this little challenge upon myself, I knew the "no pizza" part was going to be tough.  A few restaurants in DC make crust from gluten-free flours, but when my friend Meagan sent me a recipe for a cauliflower pizza crust, I was intrigued.  Meagan and I swap recipes often, and I'm always impressed with whatever she sends my way.  This overarching endorsement, however, is not to erase my skepticism regarding this particular recipe - the crust, of course, is make-it-or-break-it in a pie.

But, surprisingly enough, this crust is pretty good if you are fine with skipping the chewy, doughy goodness of a perfectly cooked pizza.  This cauliflower concoction definitely beats those amalgams of gluten-free flours with bizarre textures and sour aftertastes.  The first time Whitney and I made these pies for lunch, we had trouble with the consistency of the crust.  It was still a little soft, but we think that we didn't let the cauliflower cool down enough before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.  It may have been a little soggy from the water that is released from the cauliflower while steaming, so be sure the cauliflower is completely cool and dry before mixing with the rest of the crust ingredients.

So instead of trying to shovel a limp pizza out of the pan onto a plate, we just ate them directly out of the pans. (I'm sorry, Mom!)  As soon as we bit into them, we realized that the consistency didn't matter - the flavor was just too good.  The crust didn't taste like cauliflower.  It didn't taste like pizza crust, either, but it definitely didn't taste like cauliflower, which is probably my least favorite vegetable.  Definite win.

For toppings, I usually like a traditional tomato base.  However, I was pressed for time and couldn't make my own from scratch, nor could I thicken up some spaghetti sauce with tomato paste (life-saving shortcut for pizza sauce, FYI) because the spaghetti sauce in my pantry contained sugar.  I did have some pesto on hand, so I used that.  Then, we loaded up on artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, roasted red peppers (me) and sausage (Whitney). 

Marginally-related tangent:  I like to make my own pesto, but basil is expensive and flavorless this time of year, so I took another shortcut with store-bought.  However, I'd definitely reccommend making your own - it is easy and so much better than store-bought.  In the summertime, I grow my own basil in my windowboxes, even though my apartment management has told me approximately 27 times that I am not allowed to have windowboxes on the second floor.  (To which I say, whatever.  I'd like to see a gust of wind that can blow my large, cumbersome windowbox off the ledge.  It made it through the hurricane last year without a problem.)  I am not particularly horticulturally inclined, but basil is impossible to kill, which is a good thing since Whitney always forgets to water it when I'm away :) 

Would we make it again?  Definitely.  To be sure, real wheat flour will always be my first choice, but this is a nice alternative.  And, this is super tasty the next day, and the crust hardens a bit, making it easier to eat with your hands.  (I looooove cold pizza for breakfast.  Not sorry.)  We used springform cake pans, but you may have better luck with just cooking it on a baking sheet - it will probably cook better and be easier to get onto a plate.  But overall, we chalked it up as a win. 

The one thing that gets me about this recipe is that the original one calls for an entire cup of shredded mozzarella.  ONE CUP!  That seems a bit excessive - even for me.  I reduced the mozzarella and used grated parmesan in lieu of part of it, which gives it a stronger flavor.  I'd be interested to see how we can get rid of even more of the cheese - I want my cheese ooey, gooey, and melted on top - not inside a cauliflower crust.  Something tells me white beans might work.  Do y'all have any ideas?!

Oh, I know some of you are having trouble commenting, but I can't figure out why blogger won't let you log in with your google IDs.  I'm sorry.  If you have questions, just email me.  Randi emailed me a slew of questions and it kinda made my week!

Also, when I posted this recipe on Facebook and Twitter with the caption "Don't be like me", it became my most visited page to-date.  I guess I know how to get you to read my blog...

Cauliflower pizza crust
Makes one eight-inch pie
Adapted from Recipegirl.com 

1/2 head of cauliflower
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoons oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

1.  Preheat oven to 450.
2.  Remove bottom part of cauliflower, where the stem has the green leaves coming out of it.  Chop cauliflower into smaller pieces and pulse in food processor until crumbly.
3.  Microwave cauliflower for about 5 minutes, until soft.  Let cool completely.
4.  Mix cauliflower in medium bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
5.  Form an eight-inch rounds on a greased baking sheet, or, as I did, a spring form cake pan.
6.  Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
7.  Remove from oven, top with desired toppings, and place under broiler for 30-60 seconds, until toppings are warmed through. Pin It Now!