flower power

I was scrolling through the good ol' pinterests the other day, while hard at work, and found an intriguing cauliflower pizza crust recipe.

I've been craving pizza.  I think its moving that brings out that specific desire?  BUT in spite of all the crazy shit that's been happening I've managed to mostly stick to my paleo guns for my bootcamp crew (minus hospital turkey sandwich, can you blame me?)
So I was especially intrigued by this flourless crust that could play host to pizza like toppings...

The original recipe called for lots of cheese and some milk, so I hit my vegan recipe sources (what what) and managed to find a vegan cauliflower crust recipe.

I doctored it and such for consistency sake. Now I need to be really honest. This isn't a fantastic, hands down I will never eat real pizza again, kind of recipe. It's okay. I mean it's fine. Wow I am really selling it.

I have to say that I didn't set myself up for success when attempting this recipe. The much needed cuisinart is living at a friends house momentarily, so I riced my cauliflower with the immersion blender. I really don't recommend doing that. Ever. Also. I used my pizza stone and floured it with almond meal... This concoction does not get "doughy" like dough. its mostly like a paste.... So I burned the damn crust to the stone.... I still maintain it was fine...

The recipe made enough for two eight inch crusts, so the second time I just baked on a cookie sheet and it was again, equally, fine.

The topping combination was ROCKSTAR DELICIOUS though.

So here is the recipe. Play. See if you can make it happier.

Cauliflower Crust

1 cup almond flour
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
3 flax eggs or 3 regular chicken eggs
Pinch of sea salt
1 tsp italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 450F

Pulse cauliflower in a food processor (SERIOUSLY), until riced (does that even make sense? Basically itty bitty crumbly cauliflowers..)

In a large bowl combine riced cauliflower and eggs. Add almond flour in quarter cup increments and mix until throughly combined.

Okay here is where it gets weird. This is your "dough." Spread half of it on a greased baking sheet into a 1/2 inch thick circle.

Chuck this concoction into your preheated oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare your toppings.

Sweet Potato Caramelized onion goodness (toppings for two pizzas)

1 sweet potato sliced into very thin rounds
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 cups chopped kale, rough stems removed
1 can tomato sauce
Lightly grease a large fry pan and warm over medium high heat. Toss in onions once pan is hot. Spray oinions with a little olive oil, just to coat and a dash of salt. Stir over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Turn heat to low and cover, allowing the onions to sweat and caramelize, stirring occasionally. Once the onions start to brown (this takes about 15 minutes or so) add the sweet potatoes and rosemary. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Your crust should be about done.

Pull baking sheet out of oven and spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the crust. Sprinkle the chopped kale  on top of the sauce. Layer onions and potatoes  (in a single layer) on top of kale. Bake in oven for another 10 minutes.

Voila. This is more fork food. My crust was too crumbly to eat like a slice.

The more I think about it-- I like this recipe, it just doesn't replace pizza.