Hi guys!
I've recently tried to eat a little healthier and started trying out new things to cook. Both the Nerd and I have Italian blood, so naturally pizza is one of our favourite things. If you only eat pizza once every couple months and otherwise live a pretty healthy life with clean eating you can totally enjoy it guiltless. But, I for example, would love to have the typical pizza taste a bit more often but the calorie count is kiiinda high unfortunately.
So, I'm sure you've heard about the ominous cauliflower crust pizza. It has been featured by many people on the internet, like Cassey Ho - Flourless Pizza Recipe, Lauren Conrad - Doughless Pizza, and many more. The clou here is, that you don't add any flour and make your 'dough' out of cauliflower.
I tried it twice. The first time was horrible. I followed the recipe as perfectly as I could and it still turned out really bad. So bad, that it turned me off cauliflower for a long time. Today, I tried it a second time, just to see if it was me or the cauliflower that were wrong (just joking, it was obviously me). I'll share with you my 'recipe' and my experience here.
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Dun dun dun (insert dramatic music here)... this is the finished product!
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Ah, first let me get into something that has been bugging me for a while now. You know all those wonderful blogs that share recipes for delicious food and stuff? They're great, I love them. I try new things a lot as mentioned before and it's so cool to see what other people come up with. But what I find annoying is the HUGE text and picture overload that comes before the actual recipe. Usually broken down into little paragraphs and you have to scroll forever to get to the good part. Well, because of that I only have this picture and I will start with the ingredients and the recipe. I don't mean to be rude, and if that's the way you do it on your blog, that's fine of course, but I find this more reader-friendly.
Ingredients:
'Dough'
- 1 cauliflower. One the size of your head will yield a pizza about the size shown above.
- Paprika powder, garlic powder, salt and ground oregano
- Parmesan cheese
- Whole wheat flour (I'll explain in the recipe why I added some)
Toppings
-Whatever you like!
Recipe Instructions:
1. A lot of recipes tell you to cut the cauliflower into the little 'flowers', ground it and then put it in the microwave. I don't own one. So i washed the cauliflower and then steamed it in a steam pot for about 5 minutes. You don't want it too soft, so depending on how you do it, you'll have to play a bit around to find the right amount of time for the perfect consistency. Then i added the pieces into a food processor until it was kind of mush.
The important part now. You HAVE TO wring it out and free it of water. I used a kitchen towel. Just wring it out until the majority of water is gone. The more you do it the better. I didn't do it properly, that's why I added a little whole wheat flour, just to dry it a bit.
2. Add all the ingredients above. I won't five you exact amounts, because a) I didn't measure them, and b) you have to see whether you like them or not. For the garlic and paprika powder and the oregano, I added roughly 1/4 of a teaspoon. Both are fairly strong and I didn't want them to overpower everything. Salt was a pinch and oregano about two pinches. For the parmesan, I'd say I added about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup (or about 50 to 70 gram). Mix it all together.
It won't be like a normal pizza dough, but a lot more humid. This depends a lot on how good you wring it out and how much parmesan you add. As I'm not gluten intolerant and that bit of flour that I added won't ruin it, I would add it the whole wheat flour again. Do it how you think is best.
3. Put the mix on a parchment or wax paper and spread it out. I did it about half the thickness of my finger. Don't make it too thick or thin. Here, too, you just have to try and see what happens.
3. Pop it into the 230°C oven (I think it's about 450°F. It has to be really hot, so somewhere around there is ok). After 10 minutes I moved the whole thing higher in the oven and turned on the heat from above, just to get it to cook a bit more. After about 15 min (in total) I removed it and added all the toppings.
4. Back into the oven. Again about 10 mins in the middle and then another 5 mins, but this time so that the heat comes from below.
As you can see, my instructions aren't super detailed. The things is, that's how I cook. I'm sorry if some parts like the heat and cooking time aren't too precise, but every oven is a bit different and you just have to find out what works best for yours.
Another thing I want to mention is that, a lot of people say they get that 'pizza' to a consistency where you can pick it up like a real pizza. I couldn't. I had to eat the whole thing with fork and knife. Not really a problem, but I think it's worth mentioning.
It tastes good, seriously. I don't like cauliflower that much, but with the spices and herbs and toppings the taste is a bit less strong. You can still taste it, but not as much as you normally would if you eat cauliflower. Thanks to the oregano, a typical ingredient for pizza, this (almost) flourless pizza tastes almost like a real one. I liked it enough that I would make it again.
If you have any questions, please ask. If you have ideas or comments, please leave them in the comment section. Our ears and minds are always open.
And now, enjoy!
xo, the beauty
