Cauliflower Crust Flatbread
Substituting Cauliflower for rice, couscous, pasta, or other wheat products is newly popular. It’s especially useful for those avoiding gluten or carbohydrates; and an easy (and delicious) way to get some extra vegetables into your diet. This recipe for a cauliflower crust was inspired by one on the blog “Health on Top“.
I must admit it turned out very well; my family gave it thumbs up. I’ll be repeating the recipe with varied toppings.
There are a few tricks you should be aware of before you start.
- Grind the cauliflower fairly small (rice sized) in your processor.
- Cook it slightly softer than you would use if stir-frying. 8 minutes was perfect in my microwave but every appliance is different.
- Line a colander with a tea towel and pour the cooked cauliflower in to cool.
- Once cool, squeeze as much liquid as possible from the cauliflower before mixing with the other ingredients. Squeeze more than you think you need.
- Line your baking sheet with a non-stick silicone mat or parchment paper.
Cauliflower Crust (for each crust serving 1-2)
- I small to medium cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 egg
- ½ cup of low moisture mozzarella, shredded
- ¼ cup of grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Rice the cauliflower in a food processor.
- Place in a microwave safe bowl, cover, and microwave on high for about 8 minutes, until cooked.
- Place the cauliflower in a tea towel lined colander and cool.
- Once cool, squeeze as much liquid as possible from the cauliflower.
- Mix the squeezed cauliflower, egg, cheese, oregano, salt and pepper together.
- Press the mixture into a circle on the lined baking sheet, pressing it out evenly with your fingers or flat bottom of a glass. My crust was about 12 inches.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until brown.
Assemble the toppings
Let your imagination run wild here although I wouldn’t use anything too runny. This is probably the time for more of a white flatbread than one with traditional red sauce.
I made two pizzas. One was vegetarian and had ricotta, pesto, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, and shaved Brussels sprouts. The other had shredded mozzarella, carmelized onions, sliced spicy sausage, and Parmesan.
- Once topped, put them back in the oven.
- Bake another 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and toppings lightly browned.
- Cool for a couple of minutes before cutting into wedges.
Served with a green salad we had a dinner with three vegetables (Brussels sprouts topping), gluten free, low carbohydrate, and positively delicious.
I’m taking this to share with Angie (from the Novice Gardener) and friends at Fiesta Friday #50. There is definitely something to celebrate this week.
And I think the group at Real Food Fridays will enjoy it as well.
After all, Friday is Pizza or Flatbread night, right?