Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Gluten Free Pizza

Hi! Now, let's completely ignore the fact that I haven't updated since November, shall we? Thank you. Ahem.

So, my mom's here for a visit. For the past few years, she's been on a gluten free diet, owing to some health issues. I'm not sure she suffers from coeliac disease proper, but under this new diet regime, with a bunch of intense exercises, she's feeling much healthier in general. She comes around for a few weeks every six months or so, and while I don't go overboard to accommodate her diet (she doesn't mind splurging on traditional Danish fare while she's here, gluten or not), I do prepare a few dishes I know fall into a yummy, healthy, gluten free category, with no extra wear or tear on the chef of the day. This one's a particular favorite that I fell over, and tried out the last time around. Mom loved it, and has since given the recipe on to several friends.

So - how exactly does one make a gluten free pizza? And at that, one that doesn't require going out to acquire a special gluten free flour?

C a u l i f l o w e r

I know, right?

It's really too easy. All you'll need for the "crust" is -
1 cauliflower
2 eggs
1 handful shredded mozzarella

And toppings for your pizza of course, which may or may not include -
tomato sauce, mozzarella, olives, zucchini, chorizo, etc. etc.

You'll need to "rice" the cauliflower first, which basically means breaking the florets off, throwing them in your blender/food preocessor, and giving them a whirl until they're minced, not too big, not too small. Throw in the eggs and cheese and whirl around some more until well integrated. Now all you have to do is press it firmly on a sheet of baking paper until it has the shape you want, and isn't too thick or thin. Juuuust right. Right. Like this!



Now pre-bake. Kind of important, since if you just throw everything on, the "crust" will still be raw while the toppings will be toast. Depending on the heat, 10-15 minutes. Looks like this.



Now the toppings - and admittedly, I made a mistake here as well. I should've put the sauce on the "crust" during the pre-bake. But, it slipped and everything got put on together for the final bake.



As you can see, it turned out fine, albeit a little runny. If you just remember to slather the sauce on for the pre-bake it'll be perfect.



The "crust" isn't crusty, and this pizza needs a knife and fork to eat, but it's really delicious, nobody will ever guess it's cauliflower of all things, and that much healthier! Win.

4 comments:

Lorraine said...

Weird. We must be on the same cruciform wavelength. I will try this, as I can't eat wheat and miss pizza a ton.

Jennie said...

I don't suffer from coeliac disease, but am steadily trying to replace refined foods with alternatives. And this is actually faster than a real pizza crust to make. New fav. #win

Fuzzy said...

Yum! This is a great idea. :D I will have to do this soon.

Guestaurant said...

Dear Jennie,

My name's Samuel Dodson and I'm the regional editor at Guestaurant (www.guestaurant.com) for the UK & Europe.

I've recently been promoting several articles on Danish Gastronomy on the site, and am always looking for talented writers with a passion for food such as yourself who might like to attend some food and drink events. We have several great looking events coming up in Copenhagen and Svendborg. If this sounds like it might be of interest to you, please do get in touch. My email is editor.europe@guestaurant.com

Many thanks and my very best wishes,
Sam.