"I Can't Believe It's Cauliflower Crust" Individual Pizzas

Ok, so here's the trickster in me coming out a little - last night I may or may not tricked Chris into trying cauliflower pizza with veggie cheese, and it was certainly a hit.  It's actually been my favorite main dish so far!


This is another one of those recipes I've heard whispers about..  Being a little skeptical is perfectly natural when your talking about a pizza crust made with cauliflower.  Like, really, this seems like just one of those "healthy" alternatives that doesn't live up to the original.  WRONG!  I can assure you I will not be making pizza with normal crusts thanks to the blog DashingDish.com (love her and her tasty noms).

So last minute I decided to change up dinner (after Chris had gotten his hopes up for meatballs), so he was not a happy camper.  What was I going to do though... there was cauliflower that was about to go bad in the fridge?  The tricky part (besides being cauliflower of course), however, is using Veggie Cheese.  That's right, you read correctly - Veggie Cheese: grated parmesan and mozzarella.  You seriously can not tell the difference.  I promise.  ...and no, this is not one of those fake promises where it's only half true.


As we were cooking the crusts, I realized, "Oh wait... pizza has toppings doesn't it?  Well, what do I have around the house?"  I pulled together a quick red sauce using tomato paste and sauteed onions, peppers, garlic, spinach, and kale (there would have been mushrooms in there too if I had some in the fridge).  Wow, just wow.  Check out the recipe below to recreate the goodness:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust [w/veggie toppings]

Ingredients

• Crust
• 2 cups Cauliflower (about half a head)
• 1/8 cup Egg White
• 1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella*
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese*
• 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Dried Basil
• 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/8 tsp Salt

• Toppings
• Red sauce (homemade or premade)
• Additional Mozzarella
• 1 bell pepper of choice, cut into 1 inch pieces (I prefer red bell peppers for this recipe)
• 1 onion, chopped in bite size pieces (as if you were putting it on the skewer)
• 1+ cup spinach
• 1+ cup kale
• 1/2 tsp olive oil (just enough to coat bottom of pan)

*As I mentioned before, I used veggie cheese that I found by the tofu.  I love it because I cannot tell a difference taste wise, and you get more bang for your [nutritional] buck - your wallet [or price conscious significant other... cough*Chris*cough) may not be as happy.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or oiled foil.
2. After cauliflower has been washed and cut in half, break it into segments and place it in the food processor until it reaches a rice-like consistency.  Place that in the microwave for 8 minutes (no need to cover or add water or anything).
3. Add the cheese and seasoning and let the cauliflower cool (I put it in the fridge to speed up this process).  Once cooled, add your egg whites as a binding agent.
4. Scoop into 3 separate crusts on cookie sheet (it should be about 1/4th inch think) and bake for 30 minutes.
5. While it was baking, I made the sauce and toppings.  For toppings, I put the peppers in a covered pan and let them go for 4-5 minutes without touching it (harder than it looks).  Then add onions, garlic, kale, and spinach to pan and let cook down.
6. When you're ready remove crusts to add sauce, cheese, and toppings of coice.  Place back in the oven for a few more minutes to melt the cheese and voila.  Tastiness.

Classic Nom Face.