[Recipe] Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto & Roasted Garlic on Cauliflower Crust 

Ever since a farmer's market appeared at my workplace I've decided to start cooking more fresh stuff. It's healthier, less expensive than constant GrubHubbing and a good way to keep myself occupied. Of course this means I've been overdosing on veggies -- kale, chard, beets, brussel sprouts -- you name it, I've smothered it in bacon. Best Food Pyramid Ever. 

Anyhow, of all my food adventures the most exciting so far has been the Cauliflower. Right? Whodathunk?

Fun Fact: Orange Cauliflower has 25x more Vitamin A. Suck it, whitey.

Just pretend for a moment you've never tasted it boiled. That trauma is enough to scare someone away from our little caulifriend forever. Turns out, there are a million other ways to cook it and THEY'RE ALL DELICIOUS. It's super adaptable in recipes, makes a great low-carb/high-fiber/potassium-packed replacement for starchy deliciousness of Mashed Potatoes, Tater Tots and even Pizza Crust! I'll post the other recipes later because I'm lazy and I don't feel like writing anymore. Plus I made that pizza for dinner today so it's still fresh in the ol' memory core: 

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:
for Crust:
1 medium sized cauliflower
1 large egg
1 cup of finely shredded cheese
(I used Muenster, but I've seen recipes with Chedder, Mozzarella, or Chevre)
1 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
smidge o salt
for Toppings:
Whatever pleases you, man. I spread on a few tablespoons of tomato basil marinara, sprinkled on some shredded wine-soaked goat cheese (THE BEST), chopped up a few slices of prosciutto and squished on some roasted garlic cloves. Next I'm thinking some kind of barbecued hawaiian? Or a spinach mushroom pesto? The permutations are literally endless.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Start preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
Use a cheese grater to shred the cauliflower (You can also use a food processor, but I didn't feel like cleaning mine. soooo many parts.)You should have about two cups of shavings when you're done. Be wary of fingers.

Shreddin' FRACTALS

When you've finished, stick it in the microwave for about 8 minutes. Let it sit for a bit after so it can cool off and air out. Then mix in the rest of the crust ingredients. Oil up a pan and spread out the pastey mixture into a circle (about 9-12 inches) Bake for 20ish minutes or until it turns a more golden brown.

Then, take it out of the oven, sprinkle on your toppings and pop it back in. 5-10 minutes if you bake it, 3-5 if you broil it.

That's all folks! Mine came out a teeny bit soggy, but I only left it in for 15 because I WAS HUNGRY. Maybe next time I'll use a pan that's more open or cut it in half and shove it in the toaster oven. After all this is an experiment I plan on reproducing forever and ever, we've got plenty of time to come back and tweak it. 

As if you need any more convincing that CauliPower needs to be a part of your diet: check out the Wikipage. Talk about high nutritional density, bro. Plus fractals. Come on.

Recipe inspired by: 
Cravings of a Lunatic's guest post on I Breathe, I'm Hungry
Recipe Girl
and of course, le Google