Veggie Pizza with Cauliflower-Yam Crust
If I were to take a poll and ask my gluten-free, dairy-free clients what food they miss the most, I’m certain that pizza would easily top the list. I’ve played around with dozens of variations of a gluten-free crust and topped them with some pretty pathetic cheese wannabes, but nothing comes close to the real thing. What I love about this veggie pizza is that it’s not trying to be a big, doughy, cheesy pizza when it grows up. It’s entirely unique, with a vegetable-based crust, pesto in place of cheese, and succulent sautéed vegetables on top. It’s quite tasty the next day, and who wouldn’t want to eat cold pizza for breakfast and have it be healthy!
Ingredients
- ½ medium head cauliflower broken into small florets
- ½ medium garnet yam peeled and chopped into ½-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt divided
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil plus more for greasing pizza stone
- 1 small red onion sliced into thin rings
- ½ cup sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 yellow summer squash or zucchini
- 2 cups spinach
- ¼ to ½ cup vegan pesto store-bought is OK
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- If you have a pizza stone, put it in the oven.
- Place a steamer basket in a large pot with 1 inch of water.
- Put the cauliflower and yam in the basket and steam until both are easily pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes.
- Do not overcook or the vegetables will be too wet.
- Transfer the vegetables to a food processor.
- Add the Italian herbs and ½ teaspoon of the salt and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- Gradually add the flour, stirring until the mixture is well combined.
- Grease the pizza stone or a pizza pan with coconut oil.
- Pile the cauliflower mixture in the center of the pizza stone.
- Use a spatula to carefully spread the “dough” evenly in a circular pattern (much like spreading frosting) until the crust is about ⅛ inch thick.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Turn on the broiler and broil the crust for 2 minutes to make the top crispy (watch carefully to avoid burning).
- Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, squash, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach and remove from the heat just as it begins to wilt.
- Spread the pesto evenly over the pizza crust.
- Spread the sautéed vegetables over the pesto.
- Slice the pizza, it’s ready to serve!
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
The cauliflower crust serves as a great stand-in for flatbread and can even be used to make sandwiches.