Skinny Low Carb Cauliflower Crust Pizza, GF, DF

This wonderful cauliflower pizza crust has almost no carbs!  but will it hold together and taste like a pizza?  Yes!  It's amazing how good it is and easy to make with one head of organic cauliflower and a little cheese.  I love using fresh organic vegetables for my pizza's from our local Space Girl Organics.
The secret to a perfect cauliflower crust is to squeeze the cauliflower in a tea towel after microwaving to get all of the water out. You'll be amazed how much water there is!  Put the cauliflower into a clean towel, fold and twist from the top and really squeeze the water out.  Careful, if you're impatient like me it's going to be scorching hot, so cool before squeezing or wear heat proof kitchen mitts.

Compared to my favorite yeast pizza crust recipe that makes two huge pizza's, this recipe makes about an 18 inch pan pizza.   I like leftovers so I think I'll double the recipe next time.  You need to press the "dough" into a circle and if you are using a pan with holes like I did it will go through the holes a bit.  I just scraped it off the underside of the pan and put it back on top and popped it in the oven.  I came out perfect and after baking it didn't stick to the pan at all.

We tried homemade pizza sauce on the crust the second time around and it made the crust a little mushy.  Make sure you use a sauce that is very thick and spread it thinly for best results, or forgo the sauce and brush the crust with roasted garlic mixed with olive oil.
Here's the recipe inspired by Doris Choi

Skinny Low Carb Cauliflower Crust Pizza, GF, DF

Ingredients:

• 4 cups or one organic medium head,  steamed cauliflower rice, cut out the stem and break into florets 
• 1 large organic egg, beaten
• 4 tablespoons shredded cheese or dairy free alternative.  I used Romano and feta
• 2 tablespoons soft cheese or dairy free alternative.  I used ricotta 
• 1 teaspoon gluten free Italian seasonings or fresh organic oregano and basil   
•  pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup thick gluten free pizza sauce or for best results, brush the crust with 1/4 cup olive oil mixed with 1-2 cloves of smashed roasted garlic
• Chopped organic veggies/meat for topping. We used gluten free pepperoni, sausage, organic peppers and fresh organic spinach
• 2 cups of shredded cheese or dairy free alternative for the topping.  We used Romano, Parmesan and Mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. To make the cauliflower rice, pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor, until a rice-like texture is achieved.
3. In a large bowl add the “rice” and cover; microwave for about 5 minutes.
4. Now wrap the steamed riced cauliflower in a dishtowel, twist it up, then carefully with heat proof mitts, SQUEEZE all the excess moisture out.This will leave you with a dry bunch of cauliflower rice to make the pizza crust.
5. In a large bowl, mix your dry cauliflower rice, a beaten egg, the 4 tablespoons shredded and 2 tablespoons soft cheese, and spices until well incorporated. 
6. Press the dough out onto a greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Pressing out to about 1/3″ thick, and make the edges a little higher so they won't burn.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 400 F. The crust needs to be firm, and golden brown but not too dark.
8. Remove from oven and add your sauce or oil, cheese, and toppings. 
9. Return the pizza to the 400 F oven, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese is hot and bubbly.  

For SCD substitute allowed cheeses