Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The boys and my husband are all big fans of our "homemade" pizza.  We usually make 2 large very thin crust pizzas and for the most part it all disappears.  I was looking for an alternative to pizza night because for some reason the dough we use (not really homemade, it comes from the refrigerated section at the grocery store) hasn't been agreeing with me the last few times we have made the pizza.  I found this recipe on my Beachbody coach's blog and thought I would give it a try.

Serves 2
Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Italian seasoning)

• ½ teaspoon crushed garlic

• ½ teaspoon garlic salt

• olive oil (optional) 

• pizza sauce, shredded cheese and choice of your toppings

1) Rice the cauliflower: Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater - I tried this at first and do not recommend it.  It was really hard and I just made a huge mess). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water. One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

2) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3) In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. 
4) Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. 
5) Transfer to a cookie sheet (I do not recommend using an "air bake" style of cookie sheet), and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

6) Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven.
7) Add sauce, toppings (need to be pre-cooked) and cheese. 

8) Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

This turned out well, with the exception of the fact it didn't really crisp up in the middle.  I think this was due to the type of cookie sheet I used.  Next time I will use a dark non "air bake" style sheet, or maybe I will use our pizza pans and put a cookie sheet on the rack below.  Our pans have holes in them and as the crust bakes some of the liquid from the cauliflower comes out so if you have "holy" pans you will want to put something under it.  I just used mushrooms this time because that was about all I had left by the end of the week.  Next time I will definitely load up the veggies on there - probably peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, maybe some tomato....  Remember to cook your toppings before you top your pizza.  3-4 minutes under the broiler is just to melt the cheese and not meant to cook the toppings.  I will make this again, probably on our next pizza night and add a side salad as well.  Remember, this serves TWO.  I ate almost the whole pizza in 1 sitting!  Next time I will be sure to watch my portions.  

What are your favorite pizza toppings?