The Secret to a Crispy Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I recently tried making pizza with a cauliflower crust.  The flavor was really good, but the crust turned out a bit soggy.  Not a huge deal - we just ate it with a fork.  But, I wanted to see if I could get it a bit crisper and make a cauliflower crust that could actually be picked up.

Yes, it is possible.  Here are three things that I think made all the difference:

1. Be sure to remove as much moisture from the cauliflower as possible.
   Steaming the cauliflower works better than boiling it, because there isn't as much water in the cauliflower to begin with.  Whichever way you cook it, be sure to drain it thoroughly and then use a cotton towel or several paper towels and squeeze as much liquid out of the cooked cauliflower as you can get.
2. Use a pizza stone.
   The bottom crisps up better, and the crust seems to cook faster.  On the baking sheet, I think we should have cooked it longer than 15 minutes to brown better before we added the toppings.  On the pizza stone, it only needed about 12 minutes.  You will need to pat the crust out onto parchment paper so you can slide it onto the hot pizza stone in the oven, and so you can easily slide it out when it's time to add the toppings and remove the cooked pizza.
3. Cool on a wire rack.
   This might be the most important one.  When you slide the pizza out of the oven and off the pizza stone, it will be nicely browned and crisp.  However, if you leave your pizza on a cutting board to cool slightly before cutting, it will begin to steam and get soggy in the middle.  I noticed mine was doing this and actually slid it back onto my hot pizza stone to crisp back up, then I put it onto a wire rack to cool, still on the parchment.  All that moisture then went down through the rack and onto the counter underneath, and my pizza was not sitting in it.

The result?  Nice crispy crust that we could pick up!

I was just going to have you visit my first cauliflower crust pizza post to get the recipe, but it will be easier just to have it here.  I updated it to reflect the changes.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza
adapted from Dancing Veggies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets, steamed, drained, and mashed
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-1/2 tsp. oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F
2. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed cauliflower, egg, and cheeses. Add the garlic and oregano and stir well. Pat out on parchment paper to desired size and thickness.  Transfer to pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden.
3. Remove the crust from the oven and top with your favorite toppings and cheese.  We used a simple homemade pizza sauce, grilled chicken, onion, red pepper, feta, spinach, and mozzarella. 
4. Brush or spray the edges of the crust with olive oil and then bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese and crust are nicely browned.
5. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Cut and enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Salad Wraps

With warmer weather here, I'm always on the lookout for easy, cool meals.  I found this one in my recipe box a few weeks ago.  I don't know how long I've had it, but it had just kind of gotten lost in there, and I'd never tried it before. 

Thankfully I pulled it out this time, because this makes a great summer dinner.  I used chicken breasts I grilled on my George Foreman grill, but this would also be good with leftover rotisserie chicken.

Chicken And Broccoli Salad Wraps
adapted from an Azteca recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 T chopped green onions
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 cup Miracle Whip or salad dressing
• 6 flour tortillas
• Cheese

Directions:

1. Add about 1 inch of water to a saucepan; bring to boiling.  Add broccoli and cook 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl combine broccoli and all remaining ingredients except tortillas and cheese; toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. 
3. To serve, spoon filling onto tortillas, top with shredded cheese, and wrap or roll up tortilla to enclose filling. Enjoy!

Makes 6 wraps.

I made some Lemon Spaghetti Salad to go with this, which was really good.  It also makes a good lunch (or dinner) with just some carrot and celery sticks on the side.

Lemon Spaghetti Salad

I've made this salad a few times now.  It's very simple and makes a great side dish.  I really like it with these stuffed chicken breasts.  The original recipe uses  a 1 pound package of spaghetti, but I have cut it in half because that makes enough for 2 or 3 meals, since there are just the two of us.  I think it would be a great potluck offering, and in that case, I'd say go ahead and double this recipe.  You'll be able to feed a crowd.

Lemon Spaghetti Salad
from RockRecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. dry spaghetti (or angel hair)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 T chopped fresh basil (fresh mint or tarragon can also be used)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Break pasta in half and cook in salted water according to package directions; drain.
2. Whisk together the remaining ingredients to make the dressing, and then toss together with the cooked spaghetti.
3. Serve hot or cold.

The original recipe calls for freshly grated Parmesan, which would probably make this even better. Unfortunately, all I usually have is the kind of Parmesan that comes in the green can - but that works pretty well, too.