Recipe Review: Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Paleo, SCD, GAPS, grain free)

I don’t expect anyone to believe me at first when I tell you that this pizza crust – made mostly of cauliflower – tastes great.  I don’t expect you to believe me for the obvious:  CAULIFLOWER don’t-a make-a no pizza crust. (my ancestors are turning over in their Italian graves).

But I also imagine you wouldn’t believe me because of…well, ME.  I mean, I’m out there.  I know this about myself.  (Admission is the first step to recovery…) I’m “big fat” about things that are exciting to me.  You know, I use ALL CAPS about things that excite me: “THIS IS WONDERFUL!”  “IT TASTES AMAZING!”

That being said, I AM truthful, I don’t give compliments out freely about things that I think are just marginal. But, things I love are IN BIG FAT BOLD CAPS BECAUSE I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THEIR FABULOUSNESS!  Get the picture?

This is precisely the reason (one of the reasons) I married a mild mannered non-Italian, who I lovingly refer to as “the cracker”.  He’s low-key, laid back…you know, vanilla.  But, this is why his opinion on food (and other things) matters so much:  you can believe him.  He’s not over the top. Nor would he be characterized as a “foodie” (crackers tend to like cracker food) but his opinion on food is thought out and honest.

So – pizza night.  I miss it terribly.  And I miss my favorite pizza joint, Pompeii Pizza (coal fired crust…sigh).  My daughter misses it too.  Then, I saw this lovely picture of “pizza” from Gluten Free Happy Tummy wherein the crust is made from cauliflower.  Her pics made my mouth water. I just couldn’t believe it.  Until I tried it.

I bought a couple of backup pizzas for hubby and son because I just knew they wouldn’t go for the grain-free cauliflower-pizza thing I was trying for daughter and me.  Well, once it came out of the oven, my son was like, “Hey, can I try that?  It looks good!”  After one bite he exclaimed, “Wow!  It IS good!” in utter disbelief – which, I admit, I shared.

Then, hubby wanted to try it, after which he uttered the same exclamation, “WOW!  This IS good!”

So, in short, I wanted to pass it along to you.  My toppings are listed below: 

Cauliflower Pizza (who knew?!)

Ingredients:

1  Crust (I doubled to make two pizzas – PLUS I added some grated Parmesan to the “dough”) 

NOTE: she has since changed the recipe to add hazelnuts, garlic, onion, and quinoa flakes. I did not make the recipe with those ingredients. So if you want a pizza like the one pictured, make her recipe sans those ingredients and add Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to the dough.

Toppings:

homemade pesto (or good quality store bought – *See note below)
roasted tomatoes (zapped in food processor or blender)
arugula
Pecorino Romano, grated

Instructions:

*NOTE on PESTO:  I love Ina Garten’s recipe.  My only change is using 1 1/2 cups of Pecorino Romano instead of 1 cup Parmesan.  It stores well in a glass container with a layer of oil on top.

This is pretty simple.  Just do the crust as she says (adding Parmesan if desired).  Pre-bake as directed.