Test Kitchen: Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Easy, healthy recipes tested for you weekly at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen
Jay Patruno, Dietetics Student, SAR ’18

About the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen: We’re all about making healthy taste delicious here at Sargent Choice.  That’s why we’ve teamed up with faculty-in-residence Dr. Karen Jacobs to offer students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to trial and taste-test new Sargent Choice healthy recipes each week at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen.  Dr. Karen Jacobs invites students of all majors (not just nutrition) into her home on Boston University’s campus to cook up a recipe developed by Sargent Choice Registered Dietitian, Jennifer Culbert.  Feedback from the weekly Test Kitchen gets incorporated into future Sargent Choice recipes and helps shape the face of healthy dining at BU.

Why we chose this recipe: Cauliflower is making a comeback! We are seeing it everywhere, and not just as a veggie side dish but also as a substitute for traditional rice or pizza dough, like in this cauliflower pizza recipe. This recipe is great if you need to empty out your refrigerator and use up leftovers since the toppings are completely up for interpretation. After experimenting with vegetable tacos at last week’s Test Kitchen, we had a lot of squash, zucchini, and tomatoes left over—these made for perfect pizza toppings this week! We decided to tweak the recipe a bit and experiment with a white pizza, but I can imagine a marinara or pesto sauce on top would be equally as tasty.

Feedback from the Test Kitchen: This recipe was a huge hit. It was fun making the cauliflower crust. One lesson from the Test Kitchen: Because the crust needs to be baked before adding the toppings on (to then bake again), we recommend doing the first part while multitasking.  You can make the crust and pop it in the oven while studying, working, entertaining, etc. When the timer goes off, put the toppings on, then put the whole pizza back in the oven to finish and brown. The dough also works well if kept in the fridge or freezer, but be sure to squeeze out any excess liquid from the raw cauliflower to prevent a soggy finished product. I would recommend sprinkling fresh or dried herbs like basil or oregano on at the end to evoke that traditional pizza flavor.

Sargent Choice Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Recipe modified from https://www.mommypotamus.com
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 very large or two small cauliflower heads
2 tablespoons coconut flour
½ cup mozzarella cheese, plus more for topping
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
pizza sauce
toppings of choice

Directions:

1. Place a large baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 450°.
2. Remove stem from cauliflower and break florets into small/medium pieces.
3. Grind cauliflower in food processor until the texture resembles small pieces of rice.
4. Measure out 2 ½ cups of cauliflower rice and place it in a bowl.
5. Sprinkle salt, onion powder, coconut flour and cheese over the cauliflower. Add eggs and stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
6. Form mixture into a ball and press into the shape of a pizza crust on parchment paper. The crust should be 11-12 inches wide.
7. Slide heated baking sheet under the parchment paper and place crust in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes.  The crust should develop some golden-brown flecks when it’s ready for toppings.
8. Add toppings and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.