Cauliflower Base Meaty Pizza!

I’m a sucker for pizza night. Especially your Two-For-Tuesdays Dominos! And although I always go for the thin and crispy pizza base, I still can’t help but feel guilty for having consumed all that dough – which my stomach doesn’t usually thank me for either! :(

I’ve been wanting to try out a cauliflower pizza base for ages now, but wanted a recipe with no frills. So when I saw this one on BBC Good Food, I thought I’d give it a go. Of course I changed up the toppings and added some extra seasoning to the base, and I’m glad to say it turned out AMAZING! I could have eaten the whole thing and not felt the slightest bit bloated (but unfortunately I had to share with the BF and it’s usually 40:60 in that case).

Obviously everyone has their preference of toppings but the below combination went DELICIOUSLY together so I would definitely recommend you give it a go!

INGREDIENTS:

For the pizza base:

• 1 cauliflower (makes approx. 300g of cauliflower rice)

• 100g ground almonds

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1tsp dried oregano

• 1tsp salt

• 1tsp black pepper

For the toppings –

• tomato puree

• grated mozzarella cheese

• 125g ball mozzarella

• tinned sweetcorn

• a few baby spinach leaves

• pointed sweet red pepper

• jalapeños

• 1 chicken breast

• lamb mince

• cajun seasoning

• salt

• garlic power

• red chilli powder

• black pepper

• dried chilli flakes

RECIPE:

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

2. (If you've brought pre-made cauliflower rice you can skip this step). Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end, then cut into chunks. Blitz all the chunks of cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped, like rice.

3. Transfer the cauliflower rice to a microwaveable bowl, then cover with cling film and microwave on High for 5 mins until softened.

4. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, scrunch up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cauliflower, then transfer to a clean bowl.

5. Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano, salt and pepper to give it plenty of seasoning.

6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease with oil/margarine. Mound the cauliflower mix into the centre of the tray, then use a spoon and your hands to spread out into a round crust depending on how thick you want it (I'd advise to keep it on the thin side so you don't get too much cauliflower taste). Make it a little thicker at the edges to create a ‘crust’. Bake for 15-18 mins until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges. Once the cauliflower base is cooked, set aside to cool a little. Turn the oven up to 240C/220C fan/gas 8.

7. Meanwhile, wash and cut the chicken breast into small pieces. Heat 1tsp oil in a pan then sizzle in the chicken and sprinkle on about 1tbsp of cajun seasoning and some salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat then transfer the chicken into a bowl and leave to one side to cool.

8. In the same pan, add in your lamb mince and season to your taste with salt, black pepper and red chilli powder. Once you're happy with the taste and the lamb is cooked, remove from heat and empty into a bowl to leave on one side to cool.

9. Wash and dry a few baby spinach leaves and drain the sweetcorn. Prepare your pointed sweet red pepper by removing the stalk, cutting in half and removing the vein with seeds. Chop into small chunks.

10. Drain the mozzarella ball and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Cut into finger thick slices.

11. Now for creating your pizza! First spread a thin layer of tomato puree on the base then sprinkle on some grated mozzarella cheese. Top with a generous amount of your cajun chicken, lamb mince, red pepper and sweetcorn. Evenly lay out some jalapeños, a few spinach leaves (remove the stalks), and the slices of mozzarella. Sprinkle on some more grated mozzarella and finish with a sprinkling of black pepper and chilli flakes!

12. When you're ready to eat your pizza, place in the oven for 10-12 mins. Remove, slice, and enjoy!