Cauliflower Pizza with Basil Sauce

 

Cauliflower Pizza with Creamy Basil Sauce

Kelly Little
Everyone loves a pizza but so many people cannot tolerate the gluten in the crust or the cheese topping. I have created a pizza that meets lots of needs. It’s gluten and dairy free and what’s more it includes a whole cauliflower, so is full of vegetable goodness too!  Vary the toppings to change the flavour each time - whether it be mushroom and sweetcorn or peppers and red onion.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Main Course
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

Tomato Sauce (can be made in advance):

  • 350 g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 onion peeled and sliced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp italian seasoning basil, thyme, oregano
  • pinch of pink himalayan salt and pepper

Pizza:

  • 1 small cauliflower broken into florets (approx. 375g)
  • 150 g brown rice flour
  • 2 chia 'eggs' 2 tbsp milled chia seeds and 4 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp tamari
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp italian seasoning
  • ½ tsp pink himalayan salt
  • ½ tsp nutritional yeast

Avocado and Basil Sauce:

  • 1/2 ripe avocado
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 140ºC.
  • Wash the cherry tomatoes and place in a baking dish with the sliced onion.
  • Drizzle with olive oil and add the italian seasoning and salt and pepper.
  • Bake for 90 minutes and leave to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 200ºC.
  • For the pizza bases, start by making the chia ‘egg’ and set aside.
  • Oil and flour 2 pizza dishes generously.
  • Place the cauliflower florets into a food processor and blend until a flour like substance forms.
  • Place into a nut milk bag and squeeze out the excess liquid. It is really important that you squeeze out as much liquid as you can at this stage otherwise you will end up with a soggy base.
  • Once all the liquid has been removed place the cauliflower into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
  • Mix thoroughly with your hands until a sticky dough has formed. It should resemble wet sand but should stick together once gathered into a ball.
  • Divide the mixture in half, one for each pizza dish.  Press the doughy mixture with your fingers until it fills the pizza dish evenly.
  • Bake for 20-30 minutes. The bases will shrink a little during cooking and should be nice and dry in the middle. If they are still a little soggy, cover the edges of the bases with foil and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes.
  • Once the bases are firm, remove from the oven.
  • Blend the cooled tomatoes and cover the pizza bases with the resulting sauce followed by your preferred toppings.
  • Bake for a further 5-10 minutes.
  • While the pizzas are cooking, scoop the avocado flesh into a small blender.
  • Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.
  • Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. A little water can be added for a runnier consistency.
  • Remove the pizza from the oven and top with a handful of rocket and drizzle with the avocado and basil sauce.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Optional toppings: mushrooms, red onion, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, olives, sweet corn, sliced peppers, rocket
Allergy advice: none