Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Cauliflower Crust Pizza!
Yield: 1 pizza, feeds 2 adults

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs (24 oz.) of store bought cauliflower rice. Frozen is ok.
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning/dried oregano/dried basil/dried thyme (use whatever you’ve got)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 heaping packed cup Mozzarella cheese (an 8 oz. brick will be plenty for both the crust and the topping)
• 1 Tbsp. tapioca powder
• Whatever toppings you prefer on your pizza (pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms, marinara sauce, etc.)

Equipment:

• a thin tea towel or cheesecloth you don’t mind getting messy (we have to squeeze the moisture out of the cauliflower at one point)
• a couple large mixing bowls
• 2 sheets of parchment paper
• 2 baking sheets that are the same size
• cheese grater

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place riced cauliflower in the baking sheet and bake at 375F for 25-minutes, stirring 15 minutes in.
2. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Increase oven temp to 450F. While the cauliflower is cooling, grate your cheese and combine the egg, seasonings, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Line a large bowl with your thin tea towel or a few layers of cheesecloth and add the cooled cauliflower on top. Bring up the sides of your towel and twist the bottom to start squeezing the moisture out of the cauliflower. There will be a surprising amount of liquid that comes out, and you’ll need to use a good bit of muscle here. Keep squeezing until you can barely get any more liquid to come out (the more you squeeze out now, the less likely your crust will be soggy later). Discard the water.
4. Add your cooled and squeezed cauliflower to a large bowl along with a tightly packed, heaping, 1/2C. of grated cheese, and the egg mixture. Stir until combined. Sprinkle the tapioca starch on top and stir until combined.
5. Line you baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchment paper and add your cauliflower mixture to the center. use your hands to make a flat disc with relatively even sides by gently pressing down from the center out and pressing on the edges to reinforce them. You’re aiming for a disc roughly 10-12in in diameter. Bake at 450F for 20-minutes, then flip using the Potter’s Method*, and bake for another 10-minutes.
   1. *The Potter’s Method: Place a sheet of parchment paper and one pan of equal size directly on top of the food you are trying to flip. You want the pans “nested” into each other to ensure the pan/parchment paper is making contact with the food. Using a towel or pot holders, hold the edges of both pans firmly and flip them over as one unit. Then remove the hot pan and slide the now flipped food back onto the hot pan using the sheet of parchment paper. Continue to cook, per the recipe.
6. Carefully remove your pizza crust from the oven and, while still on the baking sheet, add your desired toppings. Place back in the oven and bake until the cheese is golden brown and the edges of your crust have started to brown and crisp up as well (about 15-minutes)
7. I know it’s tempting to dive right in once it’s out of the oven, but you’ll want to give it a couple minutes to cool so you don’t burn your mouth! The cauliflower crust also holds together better as a slice if you let the pizza cool for 2-5 minutes.
8. Enjoy!