Main Dishes

I hate cauliflower. Or should I say I used to hate because I have not eaten it as an adult so I really don’t know how I feel about it. All I know is that it tastes bad. Mum used to make it when we were young, she loved it…. WE HATED it. For me cauliflower is rated with broccoli and egg plants; things that I just don’t get why people eat them. BUT I ate some eggplants at the office cafeteria and I actually liked it so I should be experimenting with that soon.

Anyway I digress. When I saw this on Pinterest I was like WHAT the hell!!! Cauliflower??? Instead of the traditional dough base???? Eeeeeuuuuw how disgusting sounding but the foodie in me just had to try it so I did and…… drum rolls it was SURPRISINGLY tasty.  I got the full recipe from Eat. Drink. Smile. I used the exact same ingredients save for oregano which I substituted for rosemary leaves because I cant stand the taste of oregano.  I did my own thing with the toppings and it was delicious.

However, the base it self tastes funny. Not bad just funny or should I say interesting I think its because its not bread. You eat the base (on its own) and you’d think hhhmmmm what is that? But together with the toppings it’s a winner and I bet with time i’d get used to the taste of the plain base. My gal Liz came over yesterday at lunch time for a slice she ended up with three, she LOVED it she kept screaming out “OMG! this is nice, it’s nice, its so lovely, how did you make it?” etc  etc I had actually planned to post this much later but the girl insisted I should post it today so she could make it. She plans to do her base with cheddar instead of mozzarella so it will be knowing how that goes. So do try it as well.  Hope you will enjoy it. HAPPY COOKING!!

and ooh Ya its surprisingly filling i had 3 slices and i was stuffed

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• olive oil (optional)

TOPPINGS

• 200grams chicken breast
• 170 grams spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 big bunch of dhania (coriander/ cilantro), chopped
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• ½ onion
• ½ cup cheese of your choice ( I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
• ½ teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
• 1 teaspoon chicken masala
• salt and pepper to taste
• chilies (optional)
• ½ teaspoon rosemary

METHOD

1. First cut up the chicken into strips and marinate in ½ teaspoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon crushed garlic, chilies, 1 teaspoon chicken masala, ½ teaspoon rosemary salt and pepper. Mix well and set the in the fridge.
2. To “Rice” the Cauliflower:
   Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor or spice mill and pulse until it looks like grain.

cauliflower after going through the spice mill

Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater) I used my spice meal it worked great. Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes (some microwaves are more powerful than others, so you may need to reduce this cooking time). There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

My head of cauliflower produced exactly a cup.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Spray a pizza sheet or cookie sheet or whatever you have  with non-stick cooking spray or apply some olive oil
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. 
3. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9″ round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

4.Bake at 220 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

how delicious does that look

5. While this is baking, take the chicken out of the fridge and cook it in a pan that is lightly greased till it’s done. Once done chop up further if desired

6.Then place the spinach and dhania in a pot, add some water, salt pepper and the ½ teaspoon of garlic and let it cook for about 4-5 mins till it reduces in size

7. Once the crust is cooked from oven. Then add the spinach at the bottom, top with he chicken and mushrooms then sprinkle the cheese on top. Place under a oven for another 6min until the cheese melts. HAPPY EATING!!