Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I love pizza and even though I don't eat dairy or meat, I still like to make it at home. I usually buy a whole wheat pre-made mini pizza crust and just add toppings. But a friend pointed me to this cauliflower pizza crust recipe from Lauren Conrad's blog a while ago. It took me a few tries to get it right but I think I have it down now! To make this recipe even healthier, I use Daiya mozarrella-style cheese. It's available at any Whole Foods or other health food store. This cheese substitute is plant based and soy free. It's definitely the best cheese alternative that I've found! (I'm not kidding, I've started to crave Daiya instead of real cheese).

Ingredients

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed garlic
½ teaspoon garlic salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and choice of your toppings*

Instructions:

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 and pulse until it looks like grain. 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). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself. One head should produce approximately 1 cup of riced cauliflower.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together riced cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. **The first time I did this I used the Daiya cheese in the crust and it came out soggy. Regular mozzarella might work in the crust but the Daiya didn't. So I ended up just using a little more cauliflower.** Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a round making it about a half-inch thick. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes). I used garlic marinara sauce and green peppers for the topping. You may want to precook any vegetables since you will only cook the whole pizza a few minutes. I also added crushed red pepper for taste