It struck us that we haven’t posted a pizza recipe here in a while. Which perhaps had you thinking that we don’t eat pizza very often in our home? Well that’s not actually true. We eat lots of pizza, but most of the time it’s not the super greasy kind. For us, pizza can actually be a quite fun and fresh way to eat vegetables. It’s of course also one of the easiest ways to cook together with your kids. (Right after we were done shooting this, Elsa did a self portrait pizza; tomato eyes, zucchini mouth and basil hair. So funny!). We often do rye or spelt pizzas (like our Rustic Potato Pizza!), but this here is an entirely different thing. Say hello to a completely grain free pizza base made on … Cauliflower!
The recipe is originally from our book. If you don’t have the book yet, we hope that this recipe might convince you. You can buy the UK version here. The US version here. And the Danish version here.
To make this unconventional pizza base you just mix raw cauliflower into rice-like consistency. Add almond flour, eggs, oregano and salt & pepper. Spread it out on a baking sheet and pop into the oven to pre-bake.
It’s actually much simpler than making a traditional pizza base, since it doesn’t require any kneading or time for the dough to rise. We won’t claim that it tastes and feels exactly the same, because it doesn’t. Traditional pizza has a flaky crust – the cauliflower crust is definitely softer. But it holds together very well and has a really nice and almost sweet flavor. You should all give this a try – it’s a keeper!
Green Pizza with a Cauliflower Base
makes 1 pizza
We wanted to make a green and leafy topping with lots of flavor. So we made a traditional tomato sauce, added spinach and thinly shaved zucchini before it was baked. And then threw on even more green leaves, a few generous drips of a herb and lemon sauce and some pecorino slices post-baking. It’s always nice to add ingredients both before and after a pizza is baked – it looks better, tastes more intense and give the pizza a more complex texture.
Pizza base
florets from 1 cauliflower
80 g / 3 oz / 3/4 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
1 tbsp dried oregano
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 organic eggs, beaten (or see tip for a vegan alternative)
Topping
1 zucchini, shaved with a potato peeler
2 handfuls fresh spinach or leafy greens of your choice
pecorino cheese, shaved with a potato peeler
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Coarsely chop the cauliflower, place in food processor and blend until it is a fine rice-like texture. Measure 600 ml (3 cups / 20 fl oz) of the cauliflower ‘rice’ and place in a mixing bowl. Add the ground almonds, oregano and seasoning and mix with your hands. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Use your hands to pull the dry ingredients towards the middle until everything is combined and you can shape it into a ball. It should be more loose and sticky than a traditional pizza dough. Transfer to the baking paper and form into a pizza base by flattening the dough with your hands. Make the edges slightly higher. Pre-bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, prepare the pizza topping. Remove the crust from the oven. Cover it with tomato sauce, shaved zucchini and spinach and put it back in the oven for 5-10 more minutes. Take it out the oven and top with Basil & Lemon sauce, shaved pecorino, fresh herbs and green leaves. Serve.
Tip: For a vegan alternative, replace the eggs with this chia mixture: Measure 30 g / 1/4 cup /1 oz of chia seeds into a bowl and add 175 ml / 3/4 cup / 6 fl oz of water. Stir well and place in the fridge for 15 minutes before use.
Basic Tomato Sauce
makes around 1 litre / 4 cups / 34 fl oz
2 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil or ghee
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried chili
3 x 400 g (14 oz) cans whole plum tomatoes
5 sprigs of basil, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chili and sauté for a couple of minutes until golden. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes. Lower the heat, cover and gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Use immediately or cool and store in an air-tight glass jar in the fridge. Keeps for about a week.
Basil & lemon sauce
makes about 1 cup / 250 ml
2 cups tightly packed basil + extra for topping
1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1/2 lemon, juice
2 tbsp shredded pecorino cheese
1 pinch of sea salt
Place all ingredients in a mixer and blend until smooth. Use immediately or store in an air-tight glass jar in the fridge. Keeps for about a week.
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Ps! If you have already bought our book we’d be super grateful if you could leave a short review of it on Amazon. Thank you!!
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