Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Hi!

Cauliflower seems to have enjoyed a revival in recent years. Anyone who has scrolled through Pinterest for more than a few minutes had probably seen how it can be substituted for numerous different things, including rice and potatoes. I've even seen a recipe for cauliflower "wings" - dupes for spicy chicken wings using Frank's Hot Sauce. Unfortunately myself and the hot sauce didn't get along (not to my taste at all) so I won't be trying that one - but I was dying to try a proper Cauliflower pizza base.

I've tried this a few times before, and it has never turned out right. This time I used Lauren Goslin's method, and adapted the recipe to suit my measuring system. This base has no dairy or gluten (toppings excluded).

Lauren's original recipe and instructions can be found here: Oatmeal With a Fork

This is my adaptation. I made it bold even more delicious with some cheese and chorizo - but you can use any topping you want.

For the pizza base, you'll need:

Equipment: A grater, baking paper, shallow baking tin or dish, chopping board, grater, bowl (microwave suitable), sharp knife, clean towel, scales or scoop, whisk.
Ingredients: 230g fresh cauliflower florets (1 standard fresh cauliflower is more than enough), 1 medium egg, pinch of sea salt, pinch of garlic powder, pinch of oregano, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 45ml water. Toppings of your choice.

Make cauliflower "rice" by grating the raw florets into a bowl.

Add the water to the bowl, microwave on full power for 1 minute. Remove WITH CARE, the bowl will be extremely hot. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400f/200c/Gas 6.

When cool, empty the "rice" out onto a clean tea towel and wring all the water out.

In a clean bowl (I just rinsed the same one) whisk together the egg, olive oil, garlic powder, oregano and salt.

Add the cauliflower to the egg mixture and mix everything thoroughly.

Take your baking paper or greaseproof paper and your tin, turn your tin upside down, draw around it, and cut the circle of paper to match the size of the tin.

Lightly grease the tin and smooth the paper on top.

Spoon your cauliflower mix in and smooth it out evenly. You can use your spoon to create a raised edge to act as a crust, just push the mixture gently from the middle out towards the edges.

Bake the pizza in the preheated oven for 30-40 mins or until golden.

Add the topping of your choice - I used passata, some grated low fat cheese, and some chorizo. Increase the oven temperature to 450f/230c/Gas 8 and bake for 6-7 minutes or until topping is cooked.

Leave to cool slightly, then peel the paper off and plate it up!

The question I get the most when I mention this is "does it taste like cauliflower" - Well, look - it IS cauliflower, so yeah, it does. But it's not overpowering and it tends to take on the stronger flavours (like chorizo here, or onion).

Please let me know if you try it!