Week 2: Cauliflower Crust White Pizza

Week 2 pizza actually didn't get made until the first day of week 3, but we were having far too much fun this weekend to spend too much time in the kitchen. So, that means 2 pizza days this week!

Oddly enough, we chose to make a white sauce when it was 80º out this weekend, then Mother Nature decided to make it white outside in the middle of April while we were baking it....boo snow, but yum white pizza!

After our success with cauliflower mashed "potatoes" a few weeks ago, we wanted to try the cauliflower pizza crust we have heard so much about, but we were skeptical about how cauliflower, egg and cheese could make a sturdy platform for saucy, cheesy goodness. (See photo #3 below)
We chose to keep the toppings light and the sauce thick instead of a potentially runny tomato-based sauce to avoid a lava pool in the bottom of our oven.

The cauliflower crust was fairly simple to make.

• 1 head cauliflower (about 2 cups riced)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-2 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese (we used the Italian blend)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon basil

1. Preheat oven to 400º, grease a baking sheet or use greased aluminum foil to keep it from sticking.
2. Remove the stems and leaves from your cauliflower and chop the florets into chunks. Add to a food processor and pulse just until the texture is similar to rice. If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater or chop it.

Looks like rice!

3. Sauté cauliflower “rice” in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook until translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes. (You can use the microwave for this as well. Just place cauliflower in an uncovered microwave-safe bowl and cook for 8 minutes.)

4. In a bowl combine the cooked cauliflower with all remaining ingredients.
5. Spread dough out evenly over foil (or stone) – about ¼ to ⅓ of an inch thick. The pizza should be about 10-12 inches in diameter.

This is where it got weird, that egg and cheese mixture does not look appetizing.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden, crispy on the edges and cooked through the middle. (we baked for 15 minutes, then cut off those weird little edges that were already crispy. Then we baked for about 10 more minutes)
7. Remove the crust from the oven.

Sorry for the glare, but it did get golden brown and the edges were crispy.

 

8. Top with pizza sauce and toppings. (We used a ricotta cheese sauce: sorta/kinda recipe below, fresh spinach, tomato slices and onions. We topped it with about 1 cup of Italian blend shredded cheese)

9. First, we baked it for about 5-6 minutes to melt the cheese a little bit. Then we broiled the pizza for 5 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the cheese was bubbly and starting to brown. 

Allow the pizza to cool for 2-3 minutes then cut and serve immediately.

The crust held up fairly well, and it the pizza itself turned out beautiful! The points of the slices (middle of the pizza) had to be cut with a fork but the outside edge was nice and crispy. I am interested to see how (or if) it crisps up when I reheat it on the pizzazz.

 

Ricotta Cheese Sauce:
We used a whole tub (2 cups maybe?) of ricotta, part skim. 
Mixed in to taste (meaning we didn't measure...)
-Roasted minced garlic
-Nature's Seasoning
-Italian Seasoning (Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme)
(we had leftovers that we are going to freeze for another delicious meal someday down the road)