Cauliflower Crust Pizza (with a twist)

I have seen cauliflower used for everything from pizza crust to steak to breadsticks to rice. I love cauliflower. I love the taste of it. I love it in soup. I love it on a veggie tray (which no one else seems to so that always works out in my favor.) I love it roasted. But this whole cauliflower is a miracle to replace carbs and bread and all sorts of other tasty things I know I shouldn't have really throws me for a loop.

I knew I wanted to try this miracle of pizza crusts and really it was out of sheer laziness I never did. I would write it on my meal plans regularly. Always ending up not doing it and making scrambled eggs instead and pureeing the cauliflower into soup before it rotted at the back of the fridge. I always start out the week with the best of intentions. Then life happens, an extra cheer practice or a chance to go to dinner with my girlfriends, and I find myself scrambling to use up my produce before it is too late.

This was the situation when I decided to try to make cauliflower pizza crust this week. Not only did I have cauliflower to use up but some broccoli and basil leaves that were starting to look kind of sad. So into the food processor it all went. My hubby eats a lot so I figured the more pureed veggies to turn into crust the better and putting fresh basil in it was kind of awesome. It had great flavor and I didn't have to add anything else.

And I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the results. In reality, it isn't going to cut it when I want something chewy and doughy and greasy. But standing on it's own....it is good. And it's green. Anything green makes me feel extra healthy. I will totally make this again....my way.

Here is what I did:

1 head of cauliflower
1 small head of broccoli
Basil leaves (handful or two)
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 cup cheese (I used fresh grated cheddar. It was what we had.)

Preheat the oven to 400

Add the cauliflower to a food processor. Pulse until it reaches a rice like texture.

Transfer to a clean dish towel. Wrap it up and squeeze the heck out of it. And then squeeze it some more. You will be amazed at how much water comes out of it. Transfer to a large bowl.

Repeat with the broccoli and add the basil leaves (or herbs of choice) too. Squeeze them and squeeze them again.  Add to the cauliflower in the bowl.

Mix well.

Add beaten egg and cheese. Mix well.

At this point I lay out another towel and press the mixture flat (like a crust) and then use paper towel on top to absorb even more water. (Because it keeps coming.)

The more moisture you get out of the mix now....the more like real crust it will be. So hopefully that motivates you to keep on squeezing.

Then transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 35-40  minutes or until it starts to brown.

Remove from the oven and add your toppings. (I used diced tomatoes, onions, and sauteed mushrooms and a little bit more cheese.)

Pop it back into the oven for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!


21 Day Fix Container Conversion (per 2 pieces)

1 Green
1 Blue

*There is so little egg once it is all portioned out that I didn't even count it as a container.

**I have seen recipes where the cauliflower (after processing) is cooked for a few minutes. I didn't do this and I still enjoyed the results.