Cauliflower Crust Pizza x 10-Minute Marinara
Your guiltiest pleasure just went to church & got saved. Hallelujah! All the flavor of your favorite Friday night delivery spot, sans guilt. Cauliflower stealthily creates the perfect crust – crispy on the outer edges & doughy on the inside, and with an even deeper flavor than the crusts you’re used to. The beautiful thing about it is that it’s made with real ingredients! Which means you won’t want to sink into the depths of your sofa afterwards. In fact, you could eat the entire thing & walk about feeling fine. I won’t tell.
The options are endless with this crust. You can keep it whole as a flatbread, cut it up & use it as sandwich bread, you could let it get stale & use it as croutons. You can even freeze it for later use. Not to mention the endless pizza combos you can play with. I went with a Hawaiian style pizza this time – sauteed red onion, roasted pineapple, and kalamata olives. Don’t knock it til you try it! The onion lends some zing, the pineapple brings some sweetness to the party, and the olives give a salty bite. Other combos I love are sauteed mushrooms, onions, and spinach. Or you could do something totally left field and do this squash blossom & fig flatbread from my Instagram. I’ll be publishing the recipe to the site in the next week or so for easier reference.
I use Trader Joe’s cashew mozzarella shreds for the cheese – it’s one of the better ingredient lists for a packaged cheese I’ve found (I also like Violife & Miyokos) but it’s certainly a cheat for me. Ideally, I’d make my own cashew cheese with more of a ricotta consistency for quality control, but in a pinch I love the flavor & texture of these shreds. Regardless, you won’t miss the meat I promise you that. Just ask my omnivorous taste testers that cleaned the plate.
I saved the best for last. You’ll never want a store bought red sauce ever again once you give this marinara a go. Simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, fast, easy, and better than the jarred stuff. The beautiful thing about it is its versatility. You can throw it on some lentil penne over some greens for a 5 minute meal on a weeknight. You can make some crispy eggplant rounds & dip them in the marinara for a fun appetizer. You could even thin it down & eat it as a soup!
It’s also open to variations. You could add some fresh herbs of your choosing for flavor & antioxidants, add in some baby spinach & let it wilt down for a hidden nutrient punch, maybe even showcase some portobellos for a meaty alternative. The possibilities are endless.
Cauliflower Crust Recipe:
1 medium size head of cauliflower (or 12 oz cauliflower rice)
1 1/2 c chickpea flour (only 1 c if using the cauliflower rice)
4 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3/4 c water
1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
1 tbsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Mix the flaxseed & water, let sit for 30 until egglike in consistency. Pulse the cauliflower head in a food processor or Vitamix until it becomes a consistent texture almost like a dough. (Alternatively: if using the cauliflower rice, no need to process into a dough. It will lend a less uniform & more crumbly crust though. Still works!) Mix with all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and spread to 1/4 inch thick.
Bake about 25-30 minutes, or until light brown on edges and firm/cooked through in the middle. Flip onto another sheet of parchment (I recommend putting the 2nd piece on the top of the crust, using a large cutting board, and flipping the whole thing over, then transferring back onto the baking sheet. Point is – it’s fragile, be careful.) and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Just make sure the edges don’t burn.
Flip the crust back onto a cutting board & let cool for about 10 minutes before topping with the marinara & toppings.
Marinara Recipe:
1 medium yellow onion, roughly diced
3-8 cloves of garlic, chopped fine (depending on how much you like garlic, I go for a full 8)
1 can San Marzano peeled tomatoes – 28 oz (I like Cento brand, sold at Trader Joe’s)
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp maple
s+p to taste (start with about 1 tsp salt)
1 tbsp avocado oil
Optional add-ins: fresh basil/oregano, Italian seasonings, chili flakes (I recommend about ½ tsp chili flakes & 1 tbsp italian seasoning – just make sure your seasoning blend is pure & quality)
In a large pot, sauté onion in avocado oil over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic & sauté 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spices, and syrup. After the tomatoes soften after a few minutes, break them up by pressing them into the side of the pot with your cooking spoon. Simmer for 10 min uncovered until reduced down (ideally 20 minutes, to let flavors meld, but 10 does the trick). Taste & adjust as needed. Carefully pour into a blender & blend on low until just integrated (don’t over blend).
Assembly:
After the crust is cooled, top with the sauce, then cheese, and the toppings of your choice (I recommend sautéing any veggies beforehand so they release their water & are seasoned properly). Then place back in the oven for about 10 minutes & I like to finish with about 1 minute under the broiler.