A pizza base made from cauliflower grated to the texture of rice, bound with egg and mozzarella and baked before anything goes on top.
Squeeze it, do not just drain it
Cauliflower is about 92 per cent water and this is the entire difficulty. A base made from cauliflower that has only been tipped into a sieve will not hold together: it bakes into a wet disc that cannot be lifted, let alone sliced.
The method that works: cook the grated cauliflower briefly, in a microwave or a dry pan, so the cells release their water. Let it cool enough to handle. Then wrap it in a clean tea towel and wring it out hard.
You should be startled by how much liquid comes out. A medium cauliflower can give half a cup or more, and every spoonful left in is a spoonful working against you.
Bake the base before topping it
Twenty minutes on its own, then the toppings, then seven minutes more. This order is not negotiable.
Toppings on a raw cauliflower base trap steam underneath and the middle never sets. Baking it first drives off the last of the moisture and lets the egg and cheese firm into something structural.
The cheese is structural too
Half the mozzarella goes into the base itself, not on top. Melted and then cooled it sets into a mesh that holds the cauliflower together, and without it the egg alone is not enough.
This is also why the base is not vegan and cannot easily be made so.
Expect a fork
Even done well, a cauliflower base is softer than a wheat one. It holds together and it does not behave like dough: a slice will bend if you pick it up by the crust. That is normal.
More cauliflower
- Cauliflower rice — the same grating, as a side.
- Cauliflower gratin — under béchamel.
- Cauliflower fritters — fried instead.
- Homemade pizza — with actual dough.
Cauliflower Pizza FAQ
Water left in the cauliflower. Draining in a sieve is not enough: cook it briefly, let it cool, then wring it out in a clean tea towel. A medium cauliflower can release half a cup of liquid, and all of it has to go.
No. Toppings on a raw base trap steam underneath and the middle never sets. Twenty minutes on its own drives off the last moisture and lets the egg and cheese firm up.
Not really. Half the mozzarella goes into the base and is structural: melted and cooled it forms a mesh that holds the cauliflower together. Egg alone will not do it.
Not quite. A cauliflower base is softer than a wheat one and a slice bends if you hold it by the crust. Done properly it holds together on the plate and needs a fork rather than a hand.
It is a mistranslation. The word wanted was florets. A corsage is a flower arrangement worn on the wrist, which appeared in both this recipe and the cauliflower gratin.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 1 egg (the binder)
- 400 g mozzarella, grated (half in the base, half on top)
- A pinch of salt (salt draws water out, which is what you want here)
- ½ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup ham, diced
- 1 cup chicken, shredded
- ¼ cup bell pepper, cut into thin julienne (pimentón: the fresh vegetable, not paprika powder)
- 1 tablespoon ground oregano
Notas
Instructions
- To make the base, break the cauliflower into florets and grate them, with a grater or a food processor, until they look like grains of rice. Cook them briefly, in the microwave or in a dry pan, so they release their water.
- Drain them thoroughly and then squeeze the cauliflower in a clean cloth until no more water comes out. Add the salt, the egg and half the mozzarella and mix into a dough.
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Spread the mixture on a baking tray and shape it into a flat round.
- Bake for 20 minutes to set the base.
- Take it out and add the toppings: the tomato paste, the rest of the mozzarella, the ham, the chicken, the bell pepper and the oregano.
- Bake for seven minutes more, to finish and to melt the cheese.
- Serve hot, while the cheese still stretches.
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