While I made huge strides in my path to the perfect slice when I found the dairy-free cauliflower crust pizza on the Lucky Penny (http://www.theluckypennyblog.com/2013/05/the-best-dairy-free-cauliflower-pizza.html?m=1), the key to this recipe was my discovery of Brazil Nut Protein Powder. I suspect it's a by-product of pressing brazil nuts for oil. It costs $6.15 a pound at my coop, and two tablespoons only contain 1g of fat. Better yet, that same amount contains 10g protein and tons of hormone-friendly selenium. In fact, I read it's best to eat no more than 2T per day, to avoid getting too much selenium!
I really enjoyed my... aah... selenium supplement. I made it as a personal pizza; I got to eat the whole thing for lunch! Yum!
The Crust
1 head cauliflower, washed, broken into uniformly sized hunks and overcooked in a vegetable steaming basket, then squeezed dry in a cheesecloth
2 egg whites
2T Brazil Nut Protein Powder
1/4 t salt, or more to taste
Ground black pepper
Generous amounts of dried basil, parsley, oregano
2 cloves minced garlic
1t olive oil (optional- I no longer use as of 3/4/14)
2t lemon juice (optional- I no longer use as of 3/4/14)
1T nutritional yeast
Combine all crust ingredients. Cauliflower will be smooshed from the cheesecloth experience (sorry cauli-- thanks for being the star of the show!) so it should be easy to integrate. Preheat a baking dish in the oven to 425. Pat crust mixture into a pizza crust shape on a piece of parchment paper (mine was 8" round). Once your baking dish is hot, plop in the paper. Bake until pleasantly golden. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then carefully flip onto another surface so the underside can dry a bit. (Optional make-ahead technique: I cooled to room temp, put it on a covered plate and used it the next day).
Toppings
Tomato sauce (I use Bionaturae strained tomatoes, and added herbs, salt and cayenne)
2 turkey breast meatballs, boiled in chicken broth to cook, finely sliced
3 olives, finely sliced
1 mushroom, finely sliced
Nutritional yeast to serve (optional)
Top pizza with all but nutritional yeast. If desired, sprinkle on a bit more salt and black pepper. Bake at 400 until heated through. Slide onto a cutting board, sprinkle with nutritional yeast if desired. Bon gusto!
Update on 3/4/14: I made this again last night. YUM! I am thinking about making several batches of the dry ingredients to facilitate more frequent pizza eating. I made, topped, baked and ate this pizza all in one night. It didn't hold together quite as well without the cooling / drying period but my partner still loved it. I do recommend flipping the pizza crust before topping it if possible (use 2 plates). Best news of all: it seemed it was pushing the limit on fat a little for a Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Pull meal, and moisture is more of a problem than dryness, so this time I left out the olive oil and lemon juice. It was still scrumptious! And now, definitely slimming! Woot woot!
Update on 4/5/14: I am still loving this recipe, though I haven't been making it quite as often these days because I've been savin' all my brazil nut protein powder for consumption in chocolate form (a post is on its way). The one time I did make it was when I had company coming, and I have to say, it made me look at the recipe with new eyes. I could joyfully eat a slightly floppy piece of pizza, but could I serve one to a guest? In the end, that night I used half coconut flour, half Brazil nut protein powder. It held together and taste really great, but the texture was a little dry. My next objective is to see howlittle coconut flour I can use to get the maximum benefits with the least fat possible. I'm planning to try using the full amount of brazil nut powder, and adding 1 t of coconut flour. I'll let you know how it goes. Updating this recipe is making me crave it! Yum!
