Veggie Pizza on homemade Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
Vegan Basil-Pumpkin Seed Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/3 cup pepitas
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- pinch of sea salt + black pepper
Toppings
- garlic 2-3 cloves minced
- 1 red pepper sliced into strips
- 1 small red onion sliced into think strips
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small zucchini sliced into thin circles
- 1 small summer squash sliced into thin circles
- 1 ichiban eggplant or small eggplant sliced into thin circles
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- Approximately 1/4 cup crumbled feta or to taste (optional)
- micro greens for garnish
- Mix of fennel seeds toasted sesame seeds, salt (I mixed at a 1 to 1 ratio), to taste
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- 1 package cauliflower rice or 1 medium head cauliflower chopped (should yield 2-3 cups fine rice once processed)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 egg
Instructions
Pesto
- Blend all the pesto ingredients together using a food processor or blender.
- Note: I didn't have any trouble blending it in a blender but if too thick or difficult to blend add an additional 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- Set aside
Veggies
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan, add garlic. Saute 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add peppers and onions. Saute 5 minutes or until tender crisp. Remove from heat. Set aside.
- One vegetable at a time, toss zucchini, squash and eggplant in a touch of olive oil, lay in a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake 20-30 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
Pizza Assembly
- Spoon Pesto over pizza crust leaving a 1/4 in edge
- Top with zucchini, squash, and eggplant.
- Top with pepper and onions.
- Top with feta if using.
- Bake at 425F for 10 minutes or until cheese is warm.
- Top with micro greens and sesame seed, fennel, salt mix to taste
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
- Pulse cauliflower in a food processor until resembles a powdery snow (about 30 seconds to 1 minute)
- Place cauliflower is a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Then pour cauliflower on a clean towel or cheese cloth. Let cool a bit.
- Once cauliflower cool enough to handle, wrap it in cheese cloth or towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure a chewy crust.
- Place cauliflower in a bowl. Add parmesan, mozzarella, salt, basil, oregano, garlic powder. Lastly add egg and mix together. Hands tend to work best.
- Form the dough into a crust oiled foil. Pat down well into desired shape.
- Bake in 450F preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until it starts to turn a golden brown. Remove from oven and add your toppings.