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.
