Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Baked Crust before adding toppings


This post is ahead of schedule because one of my sisters asked for the recipe. Soon I will make this again and next time I'll take photos. (Photos added 3-7-13). This recipe came from another sister who has been encouraging us to reduce or eliminate grains from our diet.  I'll go for "reduce" at this point, but this may be the reason the holiday pounds are still hanging around.

This was made for friends January 11th.  The ladies enjoyed it very much, the men not so much and the children protested. Never mind they were not required to eat it.  The home made pizza crust from Prairie Gold Whole Wheat was available for them.  Come to think about it, I don't think they even tried this.  I think they just emphatically stated they wouldn't.  Of course I knew that and chose my battles a little more carefully.


Cauliflower puree after it is cooked on the stove.


Cauliflower Pizza Crust

1 head cauliflower
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, grind up the cauliflower. 

Cook on stove top with a little water until soft.   Waterless cookware method:  Put about one cup of water in a 10" skillet with lid, add ground cauliflower, cover and cook at 4 (just below medium) for  5 minutes.  Turn down to 2  (low) and continue cooking with the lid on for 25 minutes. 

Remove and let cool.  

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix with egg, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Once combined, pat into the Demarle At Home Grande (11 x 19)  Flexipat.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Top the pizza.  Bake in the oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, another 10 minutes. Top with basil before serving. I didn't have basil this time so did without.

Favorite topping:  cream cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, shredded, grilled chicken, Parmesan cheese.

Photos, finally:

 Eggs, parmesan, mozzarella, cooked cauliflower puree all ready to combine.


Ingredients stirred together.

 Mixture pressed into grande flexipat by Demarle and ready to bake.


After baking for 25 minutes and wWith cream cheese added.

Then with spinach, artichoke hearts, grilled chicken bits and parmesan cheese added on top of the cream cheese.
This is has been baked for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

I don't need a wheat crust when I can have this.  Great alternative!

22 comments:

  1. Thanks my dear sister! I look forward to photos. I wonder how my hubby will like it. He has been doing the reduced carb meals with me. He likes pizza on top of roasted shutaki mushrooms.

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    1. Wonderful idea to put pizza on mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are small. Did you mean Portobello? Anyway, I want to try those asap. I already know I will REALLY like them.

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  2. Your kids make me laugh and potentially bring out my stubborn streak, but you know best. If you can't overcome their skepticism, I am sure I cannot, for I know of few children as obdurate! The pizza report from here is as follows: First of all it MUST be toasty browned before the toppings go on. It helps to make sure the cauliflower is well drained before mashing. Those two steps are important to diminish nearly all of the cauliflower flavor and any excess moisture, so the crust is firm and cohesive. Also, I have been informed politely but firmly that cauliflower pizza does not work well as a cold lunch the next day.

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    1. Well, you got further than me if it is only the cold lunch part he objected to. I had not tried it cold but probably he is right it's not the best. I usually have the opportunity to reheat mine for lunch the next day. I sure like all the tips you added here. I think people making this in the future would be interested to know what works best. When hubby came home the night I was making this he objected to the smell in the house. Of course this never happens when I make Prairie Gold pizza. When I told him what it was and that he would not have to eat it, he turned on the stove fan and started up the air ionizer. It wasn't long and the stink was out of here but you have to laugh at all the funny reactions. The kids got their obdurate streak from him. Great word by the way. I'll have to add that to my vocabulary.

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    2. Vinegar. Doug always knew when I had cleaned the floor that day. Hated the smell. He gave up on me changing, because my instructions from the wood floor refinisher didn't give me any other options, and opened the windows and doors to air it out.

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    3. Are you still using vinegar to clean the wood floors? Did they say it was okay to use Murphy's Oil Soap? I like it and think it conditions the wood. Maybe someone else knows? Comments please.

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    4. Okay I don't have 2 cents for the floor cleaning products but I am actually laughing out loud reading about cleaning floors on a cooking blog. :D Maybe it's okay when it involves vinegar LOL!

      At least Dad was proactive about the smell rather than enduring it! Funny

      LW in SE WA

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    5. You know us so well. The Sidetracked Sisters we are. At least we are consistent about something. We rely on you to bring us back into the right focus. It makes me happy that you can laugh about it.

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  3. I guess I should try some of the Murphy's. I asked about it, but only got a straight answer regarding using the vinegar. LW, we could talk about workouts next, because cleaning the floor is a fairly good one when you do it regularly. :) But I need to deliver some bills and get to the Post Office, so that is going to have to wait. What is for supper tonight?

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    1. Hmmmm I don't know. My project for the day is menu plan, grocery list, and grocery shopping. I'll try and remember to check in with you later today after I've figured all that out.

      LW in SE WA

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    2. I made homemade buttermilk biscuits and had them with our homemade freezer jam of 4 different flavors, and also eggs and bacon. Yummy! Not a wheat-free meal though. Tomorrow will be shrimp pasta with a citrus sauce (also not wheat-free) and the next day I am planning on Quesadillas (also not wheat-free) Sorry I'm not more help on the no-wheat diet :)

      LW in SE WA

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    3. Yummy sounding meals. You are such a good cook. I also love how you just keep doing it day after day. These are the ordinary days and you handle life beautifully. I've been working a lot so last night we had tacos, our favorite stand by. The night before I was so tired and got home from work at 6:00. I was so happy dad had burritos from Taqueria Yungapeti waiting in the oven. I would have requested dining out that night but didn't have to after all.

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  4. We have "discovered" rice noodles...yay! J brought home some vegetable noodles which I have been eyeing dubiously. More label reading revealed various powders, so wonder about the concoction. Not terribly fond of processed foods - made my own egg noodles which totally impressed my sons back in the day. Ha! Love doing that! :) Wheat is not the evil of the day, but the altering of it. I had wheat in chicken gravy on potatoes yesterday and a stomach ache long into the night. Wonder when I will learn. Was it the potatoes or the wheat? During the wakeful, tossing hours it was clearly the wheat that I tasted again and again as my poor stomach tried nobly to process it's contents. Help finally arrived in the form of Mediterranean Stomach Bitters, and sleep at last. Sigh of relief. Your meals sound wonderful.

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    1. Oh goodness, I can sure see why you might want to avoid wheat. Does this also happen when you eat Spelt or other non-genetically altered grains? Do you have a pasta machine? I would say it ought to be on your wish list. The homemade egg noodles would impress me too. Wow!

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    2. Haven't experimented a lot with other grains, except millet which was a delightful accompaniment to meatloaf last night. Also quinoa, as I think I said before. Loving it cold with a vinaigrette type dressing and a selection of bite sized raw vegetables. Edamame was a surprisingly good addition the other night at Geyers By the Terrace. I haven't tried spelt flour yet, as I seem to do fine with a minumum of grains. Oatmeal and rice spaghetti have been sufficient so far, although my eggs this morning sure did want a piece of toast which they did not get.

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    3. I have some millet and quinoa but have not tried it. I will grind it in my magic mill and try it out. The spelt has been great. I like it better than whole wheat, even better than Prairie Gold Whole Wheat. It results in lighter, fluffier breads and muffins. It takes less water than whole wheat. I got the grain so I could grind my own. Have been eating my eggs without toast most of the time for the past few years and if you add things like candied tomatoes (a future post on this blog) and carmelized onions (another future post) and spinach and gourmet cheese you won't miss the toast. At least I don't. Thanks for the inspiration and support. You are so awesome and valued.

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  5. I love your blog and all of the comments. Sidetracked works for me. Steve and I have greatly reduced our carbs and especially wheat carbs after starting to listen to Wheat Belly on CD. Oh my word. So after mostly avoiding wheat for two plus weeks, we had a weekend filled with it. And then we had to get over the craving again, so added a couple of more days of wheat foods from the freezer that I couldn't bare to throw out. Oh my, I have had such terrible indigestion while Steve has had just enough to make him want to go back to wheat free. So tonight is mashed cauliflower and sweet chili salmon along with the recipe you have for brussel sprouts. I just have to say, I have come a long way since I was a kid. Who would have thought that I would enjoy these yummy foods! One problem: our girl scout cookies (ordered six weeks ago) arrived last night.

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    1. So far I am not having trouble with the wheat. Maybe because I keep having a little every two or three days. Last night we copied LW's idea and had citrus shrimp pasta which of course is a worthy of a blog post of it's own. No problem with it. I'm sorry for your indigestion because of it. However, your mashed cauliflower and sweet chili salmon menu sounds wonderful.

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    2. oh dear on the gscookies. Give them away quick! Your neighbors may be a handy victim. Tell them it's donation round two, or a late christmas present. I should talk. Dieting is not going especially well here either between stressed/desserts, (husband/bookwork/taxes) groan. I am impressed with your mashed cauliflower report and must try the recipe, Janis, thanks for sharing. Okay, lets have the citrus shrimp pasta recipe, please. I love your blog, but find you call me less. :( And really need to get some sort of meal plan going so my husband doesn't have to fend for himself. The lack of planning around here is about to drive me crazy but four doors got a paint of coat on one side last evening. Going to have to get rid of some steam. Who taught us to crank up the silly and shake it/blow it/stomp it out? Or is that not within the scope of this blog?

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    3. Thank you for the reminder. Loved our phone chat again today. I needed it as much as you. I didn't know about the crank up the silly and shake it blow it stomp it out. I think that could help us out of many a frustration. I think you have done this with your 30 minutes daily of cardio exercising. Way to go on the three doors painted but don't forget to nurture yourself.

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    4. While on my walk/run this a.m. I remembered Dad cranking up the silly and Mom, too, when we got in a funk over something little. There's that old trick Dad used: mimicry. It was hard to stay mad even when you wanted too. Later I think we learned it either at a T Harv Eker seminar or from Nancy Thomas Parenting, don't remember which, but when kids know it is being used in understanding of their frustration rather than to mock them, I think it works even better.

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  6. No worries. I'm quite content in my happy zone, which turned out to be nestled in my very jumbled sewing room, focused on a sewing project, cup of steaming hot tea in hand. Ahhh. Had nothing to do with those planks, KB swings and squats, I'm sure. :) Just had one of those moments when everything seemed overwhelming, but you know, it turns out that preparation simplified one urgent situation, and the other was rather tiny...just one more thing is all. The straw, you know, and the camel's back. As I said, all is well. Thanks for tiding me over.

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