Cauliflower Pizza Base with Brinjal Tomato Pesto and Double Cheese Topping

Oh yes, this is happening !!! …. The Cauliflower Pizza Base from decades ago is now being relived. Okay, maybe not ‘decades’ but at least a decade….  Shock and horror !  I am bringing back the Cauliflower Pizza Base in all its form and glory. Seriously, there isn’t anything wrong with going into the archives and digging out an old antiquated recipe is there?  Especially if it was all great and successful ‘in its day’…..come on guys, work with me here….this is awesome !!! and it is healthy !!!, and it is low carb !!! (if you are into that kind of thing). Back in the day, when I first made this Cauliflower Pizza Base, of course I was dubious, I mean, who wouldn’t be…Cauliflower isn’t the most tastiest veg unless smothered in cheese…right? well, at the time, that was the only way I would eat Cauliflower…you know the fave veggie dish then, was cauliflower cheese sauce (what is not to love). Anyway, so I remember finding a recipe on Pinterest, but of course didn’t have the exact ingredients, so subbed here and there, and the end result was amazing!  I actually surprised myself, and of course to sweeten matters, I then loaded it with cheese, bacon, more cheese, peppers and just for good measure…even more cheese.  Need I say the pizza was awesome.

Now, years later…this pizza may not be drowning in cheese but it was just so good, I just had to share….

Cauliflower Pizza Base with Brinjal Tomato Pesto and Double Cheese Topping

Preparation time:  20  minutes

Cooking time:  30 – 40 minutes

Total time:  50 – 60 minutes

Serves 1 or 2

Ingredients:

2 cups (250 milliliters) Cauliflower Rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/3 cup (80 milliliters) grated mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup (80 milliliters) grated white cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon dried oregano/origanum

1/2 teaspoon dried sweet basil

For the topping:  

Tomato pesto

Grilled brinjal/Eggplant

Grated mozzarella cheese

Feta

Chopped fresh basil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 390 degrees Fahrenheit (I used a fan oven).

Microwave cauliflower rice for 3 minutes 50 seconds.  Place in the middle of a dish cloth, bring up the sides of the cloth, twist and ring out as much water as possible from the cooked cauliflower.  The cauliflower will be scorching hot, so be careful not to burn your hands.  Do this squishing and twisting of the cloth with the cauliflower in several times.  Let it rest for a few minutes and do it again.  Remember the more water left in the cauliflower, the more soggy your pizza base will be!

Once all the water is out, spoon the dried cauliflower into a large bowl. At this stage it will be all mashed together and will look minute in size.  Add all of the other base ingredients and mix together with a spoon. The mixture may feel a bit wet, but form a ball with it as best you can and then flatten it on a greased baking tray with greased baking paper or better still if you have a silicone mat (this works so well).  Flatten it to the thickness you want.  I personally like mine to be really quite thin.  Then place in the oven for about 30 minutes.  By this time it should be a nice golden brown.  Take it out of the oven and carefully turn it over.  Let it cook on the opposite side for an extra 5 – 10 minutes.  Take it out of the oven and then put the topping on (excluding the fresh basil) and return it to the oven for another 5 minutes.  Just before serving add a little more feta if you want and the fresh chopped basil.

Enjoy 🙂

To make your own Cauliflower Rice:  Cut a head of cauliflower in half.  This will make it easier.  Then with a sharp knife slice and chop the florets until it resembles ‘rice’.  This can be a bit messy and a bit time consuming, but it is worth it.  Alternatively, if you have a food processor, process the florets by pulsing until it resembles ‘rice’.