Cauliflower Pizza

The recipe that many of you have been asking for is finally on my site! This started out as a favorite for many of my gluten-free clients but has grown a serious following to the general masses.

Cauliflower pizza was not one of those dishes I made the first time around and thought, "Voila! My work here is done!" It took several times to get the crust texture to be just right. News flash: you can't pick this pizza up with your hands. It's definitely a fork-and-knife situation, which usually goes against my New-Yorker-pizza-folding ways, but remember, this is not an actual pizza. Nothing that isn’t actual cheese pizza with a doughy crust should be compared to pizza—those comparisons are always asking for disappointment.

Cauliflower pizza is awesome in its own right. This recipe is a really great way to get your kids (and yourselves) to eat vegetables and to avoid eating an excess amount of gluten. Gluten isn't the enemy for everyone, but I often get calls from clients (and cousins) who are concerned about their kids who are suffering from severe reactions to gluten. The allergy is real and it's scary, but there are so many delicious recipes that it isn't even a real sacrifice when it comes to flavor to give up gluten.

Would I say this recipe is as easy to make as most of the recipes I post on my blog? No. But if you have a food processor or a Vitamix, it's worth getting in the kitchen and making this dish. It also holds up in the fridge well for days. My parents ate a cauliflower pizza that I had made three days earlier and they thought it was great! Let me inform you that my mother wouldn't just say anything was delicious unless the dish made her mouth water.

If you want to get your kids excited about the pizza, you can have them help you make the crust and top the pizza. My advice is to make sure you make your crust very thinned out and don't go too heavy on the toppings. Just a light layer of sauce, cheese, basil, or whatever you want will do the trick. 

Cauliflower Pizza

Author: Michele Wolfson Broder

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head cauliflower, grated

  • ¾ cup almond flour

  • 1 cup mozzarella, shredded and divided

  • 1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 Tablespoon dried oregano

  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed (plus extra for topping)

  • 2 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce, homemade*

  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced

  • ¼ cup basil leaves, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Coarsely chop the cauliflower, place in food processor and blend until it is a fine rice-like texture.

  2. Wrap cauliflower up in cheesecloth or a dish towel and wring out all of the excess water as much as possible.

  3. Place the cauliflower into a bowl. Add almond flour, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, dried oregano, and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper. Next, add your eggs and mix with your hands.

  4. Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown.

  5. Add sauce, remaining cheese, cherry tomatoes and a dash of crushed red pepper. Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden. Add basil leaves on top while it is cooling. Enjoy!

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