Monday, November 10, 2014

Cauliflower and Spinach Crust Pizza

I live on a tree-lined street with lots of tall, old, Oak Trees. It is beautiful right now... problem is there are so many leaves! Ugh! Good thing Charlie loves when I rake, she thinks it is a blast even though I am panting and sweating and tearing my hands...ok they were torn from bar muscle ups, but still, it didn't help. :)

I have been wanting to try cauliflower crust pizza because people rave about it, but I was struggling to find a recipe without cheese in the crust. It took me a few tries and some pizza burned to the pan but I think my version turned out pretty good. I added spinach to the crust just to get some more vegetables in it. I am not going to lie, Charlie ate the kielbasa off of it and didn't even try the crust. It is a little labor intensive, but the key is to squeeze the water out- without squeezing as much as you can get out it turns out mushy. My pizza in this attempt was not paleo, but a little raw cheddar cheese was needed because I like cheese and I don't care. 

Cauliflower and Spinach Crust Pizza

- One Head of Cauliflower
- 1 10-oz Box Chopped, Frozen Spinach
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. Chop the cauliflower into florets. Using a food processor, pulse or chop the florets until they resemble rice. I had to do mine in more than one batch. Pour the "rice" onto a parchment lined baking sheet, or a glass baking dish (grease.)
2. Roast the cauli-rice for 20 minutes. The top will get that "roasted" color.


3. While the cauliflower is cooking, defrost the spinach. Using either a tea towel or cheese cloth, ring the water out of the spinach.
- Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees when you pull the cauliflower out -


4. When the cauliflower is done, put it in the tea towel with the spinach. Let it cool a few minutes, then ring out as much water as possible... the drier it is, the crispier the crust. You should have at least a cup of water- use those muscles! It is "done" being rung-out when it sticks together like a ball. During this process I stop, break it apart in the tea towel and then ring it out again.


5. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Press the "dough" onto a baking sheet about 1/4 inch thick. Bake 20 minutes until the edges are brown and it is crisping on the bottom.


6. A this point you can top it with items you don't plan on cooking, or top it and bake again until the toppings are melted or done.








3 comments:

  1. That pizza looks so great! I am just starting my Paleo food journey. Could I chop up fresh spinach instead of frozen? Then maybe it wouldn't need to be rung out???

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    1. You could try it! I would still add the hot cauliflower on top to wilt it. Most of the water actually comes from the cauliflower- almost a cup in my experience. I have other pizza recipes on the site if you are craving it :) welcome to the paleo journey- it's hard at first but is not just part of my lifestyle. It's so great to enjoy food the way it should be- not all processed!
      -MomAsRx

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