From the kitchen: Cauliflower Crust Pizza {Gluten-Free}

As I mentioned in this post, I’ve been cutting back on carbs (mostly the bread type) in an effort to shed some winter weight and get back into shape for summer, and just to be more healthy in general. There is far too much bread and pastries in my daily life, a little detox does me good every so often. Pizza is one of my (many) carby vices. I can eat it all day, everyday. No joke. And I’m not at all picky – frozen, cold, homemade, gourmet… all are welcome to the party. You can see how this can become a problem.

I’ve been curious about cauliflower crust pizza since I discovered it last year on a gluten-free food blog, but never tried it until now. Boy, was that a mistake! We looooved this pizza. Like really, really. We joked about making these for sleepovers and team parties when we have kids. We’re totally going to be that weird granola family. I’m looking forward to it.

While, I’m giving you the recipe for the pizza that you see (which was really delicious and I highly recommend), this post is really about the cauliflower crust. You can dress it with any toppings you’d like. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Makes 1 10″ pizza (serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

1 medium head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 cups once processed)

1 egg

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

For the toppings:

1 italian sausage, casing removed and cooked, breaking it down with the back of a spoon.

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/3 cup pizza sauce (add more if desired)

6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/3 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a pizza stone in the oven at this point if you have one.

Cut cauliflower into florets and discard the stems. Steam using a steamer basket (or whatever method you like) on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is just tender, but not fully cooked. Place steamed cauliflower into a food processor and pulse to create “crumbles”. Try not to over process, you don’t want cauliflower puree. Transfer your crumbles to a clean tea towel and ring out as much moister as possible. Give it a good squeeze. Transfer dry cauliflower crumbles to a medium-sized bowl and mix in egg, cheeses, salt, oregano, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper and pat into a 10-inch round. Place crust with parchment paper on heated pizza stone (if using), pizza pan, or baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Top with sauce, cheese, sausage, and tomatoes, and bake for another 10 minutes. NOTE: If using a pizza stone, slide crust directly onto the stone using a spatula before the final bake to ensure a crisper crust.

Let rest for 3-5 minutes. Top with fresh basil before serving.

BON APPETITE!!!