I Heart Pizza...

...but I don't let myself eat it that often, with the high calorie and fat content.  That is why I was so excited to see a healthy cauliflower version on Pinterest!  I have used several substitutes for dough in the past - tortillas (which work, but still have a good number of calories and carbs), various thickly cut vegetables (which don't really give the satisfying "bread" taste), and honestly just the pizza toppings on a plate (which come on, is not really pizza).

After reading this blog entry, I couldn't wait to cook. I have made riced cauliflower before, so that step was easy.  You really just cut the leaves and stems off a fresh head of cauliflower and put it in the food processor.  The smaller the chunks of florets the better, and the less you grind at a time, the quicker it actually goes. Surprisingly, it really does take on the look and (almost) texture of rice.

This recipe called for 8 minutes in the microwave, so I set the timer and went to watch TV. Coming back to check on it about 5 minutes later, it was already cooked to the core and creating a weird crust in the bowl.  Thank goodness a head of cauliflower makes enough for screwups!  I reduced the cooking time to 2 minutes and even added about a tablespoon of water, and it was perfect!

Time to make the dough!  To make it even healthier, I used two egg whites instead of one whole egg and only half the specified amount of cheese.  Once all the spices were incorporated, I spread it out on the pan.  I ended up using the bottom of cheesecake pan, since it was round, but really any oven-safe cooking vessel will do.  I assume metal will help in this case to get as much crisp as you can. It looks a little.... wet... and loose... But I had faith and put it in the oven to cook. 

Uncooked cauliflower dough, ready to be cooked.

I ended up cooking a few minutes longer than the recipe said, but that could have just been my oven. Check out the crisp edges!  It looked to be working!

Cooked!  Looks close to real dough, complete with crispy edges.

 While the crust was baking, I took the advice of the blog and precooked my toppings - I put spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, and black olives in a sautee pan with some cooking spray and garlic.  Towards the end, I added bay scallops and salad shrimp for some protein.

Precooking seafood and veggies.

Once the crust was finished, I spread out pizza sauce (yes, it was store bought, but next time I will make my own), added the toppings, and capped the whole thing off with more mozzarella.  Under the broiler it went for about 4 minutes, and it came out looking perfect and delectable!

Finished product!

And now for the taste test... I cut it into 4 pieces and nervously tried to pick up one.  Surprisingly, I was able to.  It was not quite as strong a base as dough, but it held together much better than I thought. A tentative bite gave me .... PIZZA!  Weird! It didn't taste like cauliflower at all.  Like the link says, it is not quite dough either, but with the crispy edges, I really got the crust-like flavor and texture.  The toppings were delicious - seafood and veggies just can't be beat.  I will absolutely be making this one again.  Thanks Pinterest!!