Cauliflower pizza...whaaat?

Cauliflower pizza

Isn't it funny how every now and again a new food fad appears out of nowhere?  First, we had goji berries, then chia seeds and now it is the humble cauliflower that is hitting the headlines with even Jamie Oliver making cauliflower "rice".  I must admit I was intrigued when I heard about cauliflower pizza and had to give it a go.  Stop that bandwagon - I am jumping on!

Believe it or not but the result was a really tasty pizza!  I couldn't quite believe it myself, especially since it didn't taste of cauliflower.  The base was probably not quite as crispy as a conventional pizza, so it could have done with a few more minutes in the oven but I was hungry, so I had to have it there and then :-)  

It was very tasty - what a great way to have more vegetables! And you can still have your favourite pizza toppings and freeze the pizza before the final bake if you want to have it another day.  Perfect!

Cauliflower pizza (makes one medium pizza)

Ingredients:

For the base:

1 small cauliflower 

1 egg

25g grated cheese

dried basil & oregano

salt & pepper

For the topping:

2 tbsp tomato puree

salt & pepper

dried basil & oregano

plus your favourite pizza topping e.g. salami, sliced bell peppers, ham, tomatoes, grated cheese or slices of mozzarella...anything goes!

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Cut the cauliflower into small florets and put into a blender, pulsing until it looks like rice. You might have to do this in batches.
3. Place into a pan with a small amount of water (a couple of tbsp) and cook for a few minutes until done.
4. Leave to cool a bit, then place into a clean kitchen towel and over the sink or a bowl squeeze out as much liquid as possible (quite a lot will come out).
5. In a bowl, mix the cauliflower, seasoning, egg and cheese.
6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper, then place the cauliflower mix on top.  With your hands or a spatula shape the mix into a pizza round, about half a centimeter thick.
7. Bake the base in the oven until lightly golden - this should take about 18 - 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and top with the tomato sauce and then your favourite pizza toppings, finishing with the cheese.  At this point you can wrap the pizza in a freezer bag and freeze it for another day or continue with the next step.
9. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Enjoy!

(recipe adapted from kneadtocook.com)