Saturday 25 August 2012

GF cauliflower and almond pizza bases

I am exhausted.  It doesn't seem right after I slept in this morning and stayed at home most of the day.  So I made pretzels, playdough, vegan cheese and pizza.  And Sylvia was sick.  And I had weird sci-fi dreams with soap opera stars.  So I wanted to write all about the vegan cheese.  If only I had the energy to share my excitement.  Instead I will tell you about the cauliflower and almond pizza bases I made tonight.

I told you recently about my failure with cauliflower cupcakes.   I tried another cauliflower recipe tonight.  As advised by Caralyn I made sure to wring out as much moisture as possible from the cauliflower rice.  I also loved her method of pressing the mixture together between two sheets of baking paper.

The toppings I used were a tomato and baked beans sauce, roasted pumpkin, black olives, green capsicum and grated cheese.  As you will see by the photos, I was comparing the vegan cheese to our regular cheese.  It did all but melt.  More about that later.  The base was great.  It was crispy around the edges but not quite as crispy on the base as I had hoped.  They were also slightly grainy rather than fluffy.  (And Sylvia said they were yuck though she wouldn't  taste them.)

Quibbles aside, these were delicious.  Less filling than regular flour pizza bases.  Packed with vegetable and proteins.  No kneading, no waiting for dough, no stodge.  Definitely a hit!

I am sending this to KR at Foodomania for Bake Fest, an event founded by Vardhini of Cook's Joy.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: WHB Chocolate beetroot brownies
Two years ago: Election Blues and Matrimonial Slice
Three years ago: WIP Dips, Transformation and Inspiration
Four years ago: Shepherd’s Pie Traditions
Five years ago: Midweek Mock Fish

Cauliflower and almond pizza bases
Adapted from Food to Glow and glutenfreehappytummy
serves 2-3

400g cauliflower (about 2/3 of a cauliflower)
150g ground almonds
1 egg (or 2 flax or chia eggs for a vegan version)
1/2 tsp french lavender salt (or other spice mix)
1/2 tsp wild garlic salt (or sea salt), or to taste

Steam cauliflower in the microwave.  I did mine til soft but perhaps should have done it a bit less.  ("Just tender" is what Food to Glow says.)  Blitz in the food processor until the cauliflower looks like rice.  Spoon cauliflower into a clean teatowel and wring out as much moisture as you can.

Return to food processor and add remaining ingredients.  Briefly blitz to combine.  Line two round pizza trays with baking paper and divide mixture between the two trays.  Place another piece of baking paper over each dollop of mixture and flatten until quite thin.

Bake (with baking paper on the top and bottom) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown (I did mine at 220 C but 180 C was suggested and might work better on a decent oven).  Remove top layer of paper.  Place toppings on and bake for another 7-10 minutes (7 was enough for me).

On the Stereo:
Ugly Beautiful: Baby Bird

14 comments:

  1. Wow these pizzas look amazing and so colourful and tasty. I'm so excited by the pizza base, its GF and never seen one like it before. Who knew cauliflower could be so versatile?!

    Can I come for dinner? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Katie - they were really good and a great idea for GF bases. Yes please drop over for a meal - would love to feed you :-)

      Delete
  2. Johanna, you come up with some great ideas. I never thought to use cauliflower in a pizza base but they look great! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lorraine - it wasn't my idea but obviously I spend too long online and this is the side effect :-) No complaints about the inspiration!

      Delete
  3. Almond, cauliflower, lavender! Oh yes indeed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Hannah - I can tell you are intrigued by my French Lavender salt - it adds a great depth of flavour but not much lavender

      Delete
  4. These look fantastic Johanna - I would have Sylvia's share plus some, and I'm glad the cauliflower got put to good use! I am sorry you're so exhausted though. I hope you are having a very restful day and everyone is feeling well for the start of the week tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kari - Sylvia really missed out (and how can she love one pizza and not another!) Today was far more restful - blogging, bike ride to park and then pub!

      Delete
  5. They look awesome Johanna. I love the sounds of these. Super healthy too.
    I hope this week brings a spring to your step again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Brydie - it might be tiring but at least I like to start the week feeling like I have achieved a few things on the weekend and that is true! Makes the start to the week more enjoyable

      Delete
  6. This looks great, I am bookmarking it for future use! I hope you are well, haven't seen you for ages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks K - all is well - hope you enjoy this and that all is well with you!

      Delete
  7. The pizzas look great! And guess what, I made pretzels on the weekend again too. We do seem to have our pretzel baking synchronised at the moment... ;)

    Hope Sylvia is feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I keep seeing cauliflower pizza bases all over the place and am drying to try them! Yours sound particularly good with the almonds added. Must give it a go.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by. I love hearing from you. Please share your thoughts and questions. Annoyingly the spammers are bombarding me so I have turned on the pesky captcha code (refresh to find an easy one if you don't like the first one)