Cauliflower Pizza Crust – Don’t Let the Name Fool You

The major problem with this cauliflower pizza crust is that there’s already something called pizza. If you’d never heard about pizza before, and someone served this to you, I think you’d really enjoy it. 

Unfortunately, we’ve all had pizza before, and so this will invariably be compared to the awesomeness of the real thing. You know, sort of like what happens to deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza (said the New Yorker).

Regardless, this was very tasty, pleasantly textured, and contains almost no carbs – in case you’re into one of those alternative lifestyles. For the cheese, I decided on goat after seeing this recipe on Detoxinista. All kinds of cheeses are used for this technique, usually mozzarella and something else, but I figured the tart chèvre would best simulate the fermented dough of a classic pizza.

Another important tip is to make sure you use parchment paper. Because of the moisture and cheese, this stuff can stick to foil, but nothing sticks to parchment, which is obviously a key here. You can find it next to the foil and plastic wraps in any large grocery store. 

Texture aside, the flavor of this final product was very pizza-like, and I’ll be doing further experiments to be sure. By the way, if you have a version that’s clearly superior to this one, feel free to share. Otherwise, I hope you give this cauliflower crust pizza a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one 10-inch pizza crust:

1 head cauliflower (about 3 packed cups ground)

1/2 cup water

- Cook cauliflower with water for 5-6 minutes, let cool, and squeeze out ALL water with a towel. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of dry cauliflower pulp left.

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 ounce finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about a 1-1/2 inch square grated)

2 ounces fresh goat cheese

cayenne to taste

1 large egg

Focaccia di Recco – Treating Myself

When I treat myself to a personal “food wish,” it’s usually something I’ve eaten out and become obsessed over, and this episode is a classic case. There’s a Ligurian restaurant called Farina near us, and I’ve become a full-blown focaccia di Recco stalker. 

After watching them make it in front of me so many times, I had to give it a try. It doesn’t look like the focaccia most of us are used to, but come to find out, “focaccia” simply means any flatbread cooked in a hearth, and varies region to region.

This particular example hails from Recco, and is nothing more than some Stracchino cheese trapped in between two, super-thin layers of dough. The dough is nothing more than flour, water, olive oil, and salt; but thanks to a very hot oven, and this probably ancient technique, some serious flatbread magic happens.

As I confess in the video, I was scared to use too much cheese, but I’ll use more next time. At Farina, you can see a thin layer of the molten Stracchino oozing out between the layers. My Crescenza cheesewas basically absorbed, but while you couldn’t see it, you could certainly taste it, and it was amazing.

The obvious question is, can you add other fillings to this? Yes, but don’t. It’s perfect…as long as you find the cheese. Please, find the cheese (no substitutions will be offered #toughlove). 

 By the way, I’m officially recommending the quarter sheet pan seen herein, which is what they use in the restaurant, but I think a round tart pan would work as well. In fact, from what I see online, the round pan seems to be the standard. I can’t wait to try this again, and sincerely hope you give it go as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 small or 1 large Focaccia di Recco (Tip for first timers: Make a double batch of dough so you have plenty to work with!)

*2 cups all-purpose flour (9.5 by weight)

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp water           

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp fine salt

*use enough flour to form a soft, but not too sticky dough. Knead for about 5-6 minutes to from a smooth, elastic dough. Let rest 1 hour at room temp.

12 oz Crescenza or Stracchino cheese (6 oz for each focaccia) 
extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, to taste for the top

Bake at 500 degrees F.for about 6-7 minutes, or until well-browned

National Pizza Month? Sure, Why Not!

That's right, apparently October is National Pizza Month, and to celebrate I'm sharing these links to some of our most popular pizza-related posts. Both pizza doughs, the no-knead, and Wolfgang Puck's classic California-style, get rave reviews, and are easy to master, even for a beginner. 

Of course, man cannot live by crust alone, so you'll also need some sauce, a few creative topping ideas, and a brilliant technique to reheat those cold, leftover slices. You know the drill; simply click the links to watch/read the original recipe post. Enjoy!

	No-Knead Pizza Dough So easy and fun to make, unless you like kneading, then maybe not so much.
	Wolfgang's California Pizza Dough The original chef-to-the-stars shares this very user-friendly, all-purpose pizza dough recipe.
	Pizza Sauce Pizza sauce is almost as important as the dough, so don't even think about using something straight from the can.
	Asparagus, Ham, and Ricotta Pizza  I generally don't like a lot vegetables on my pizza, since that's what salads are for, but asparagus with ham and ricotta is another story altogether.
	Sausage and Egg Pizza Eggs on pizza? Yes, yes, and yes. Yes.
	Potato Pesto Pizza Do you love pizza, but wish it had more carbs? Well, this potato-topped pesto pizza is just what the "doctor" ordered.
	How to Reheat Pizza  This went viral for a reason. Simply put, this method produces a better slice of pizza than when it was first made.