Saturday, September 7, 2013

Cauliflower crust pizza with fresh basil pesto





I had a half a head of cauliflower  and a pretty full container of basil in the fridge that both needed to be finished. And if I'm having a date with my work for the evening, this meal better be good. I've been wanting to try a cauliflower crust pizza for awhile and after researching a few recipes I settled on one that used Greek yogurt for a healthy twist.

Pesto is surprisingly so easy to make you need a food processor/blender and four basic things: olive oil, garlic, a leaf, and nuts. Traditionally people use basil, Parmesan (I left it out), pine nuts, and olive oil, but I'm seen recipes with cilantro and spinach. Didn't have pine nuts so I used walnuts and I really liked how it turned out.

Personal pizza to serve one:
Cauliflower crust:
1/4 head of cauliflower
1 egg white
1/8 cup of Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano optional

Pesto:
1 1/2 cups of basil
handful of walnuts (or 1/4 cup of pine nuts)
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

1. Put your cauliflower into a food processor so it has that rice look. When it's done you'll want to wring out the liquid so the cauliflower is as dry as possible. Probably best to place it in kitchen table and squeeze out the liquid, but I just did a lot of patting with paper towels (not eco friendly I know).
2. Mix the remaining ingredients with the cauliflower in a bowl so it's like a dough.
3. Spread the dough on a greased piece of parchment paper on a baking tray and put in the oven at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes. Make sure you spread the dough thinly think less than 1/2 an inch because you want it to be crispy, browned, and hold up when you remove it from the oven.
4. While you're waiting for your dough make the pesto by adding the basil, nuts, and garlic into your food processor (cauliflower cleaned out of course). Grind for a bit then slowly add drizzles of olive oil. Mix and add more olive oil as desired. If you want it to be more of a paste you'll need less oil, more oil will make it liquidy.
5. Once your crust is finished add the pesto and whatever toppings you want. I went with feta (low fat and strong tasting), sun dried tomatoes, and spinach. Pop it back in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and toppings are done.
6. Cut into quarters and serve.

No comments:

Post a Comment