Monday 27 June 2016

Low carb cauliflower crust calzones


The world and it's wife is eating cauliflower crust pizzas nowadays, I remember when I first made one all the way back here, everyone seemed a bit horrified when I told them about it. Not any more, they're so popular now and given that you now see cauliflower rice/ couscous in the supermarket habitually now I think it's probably only just around the corner until we see cauliflower pizzas in there too.

A few nights ago, my sister and I decided to take things next level by trying a cauliflower crust calzone, once you've made the crust and cooked it, it's pretty flexible so we were hopeful that it might just work, and thankfully we weren't disappointed!


If you're making a cauliflower crust anyway, these take only moments longer, of course there's a lot more 'crust' so if you aren't quite as keen on the crust and use it more as a vessel to hold your toppings you might not be so keen, the trick is though, to pack it full of fillings and use plenty of herbs and seasoning while making the crust to make sure the whole thing is jam packed with flavour.


Making them is far easier than you'd think; you will need (makes two calzones):


For the base
  • One small head of cauliflower
  • Two eggs
  • 1/2 a cup of vegetarian parmesan or mozzarella- I prefer parmesan or hard cheese for its stronger taste but the mozzarella is better at helping it stay together- choose your battle!
  • Mixed herbs/ garlic powder
For the filling:
  • 5 tablespoons sundried tomato puree-
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • a small handful of cherry tomatoes
  • A few leaves of basil

To make it:
  • Preheat the oven to 220 degrees
  • cut the hard stem off the cauliflower and place the florets in a food processor and process until rice like consistency
  • Pop the 'rice' into a bowl and microwave uncovered for 10 minutes
  • Transfer the rice into the middle of a tea towel and leave to cool for several minutes
  • When cool enough to handle, wring out as much liquid as you can from the mixture- you will be surprised how much will come out!
  • Put the mixture in a mixing bowl, add you eggs, cheese, and a good shake of mixed herbs/ garlic powder, mix until well combined
  • Divide the mixture into two, and transfer each to an oiled baking tray or, if you have it, this I-Bake Non Stick 1 m Cooking Liner Roll is a lifesaver when making these.
  • Use your hands to press the mixture into oval shapes, and make the edges a little thicker as these can cook quicker and are therefore more likely to burn.
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Remove form the oven and put your fillings on half of the base, don't go all the way to the edge as you need to leave some space to seal them.
  • Pick the other half of the base and fold it over so you have a calzone/Cornish pasty like creation.
  • Use a fork to seal the edges, they will not seal as tightly as a dough crust will do, but do te best you can!
  • Pop back into the oven for a further 10 minutes
  • Remove, enjoy hot and thank me later!





Up next, broccoli crust calzones! Have you tried a cauliflower crust pizza yet?
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6 comments

  1. Just had a check as you hadn't posted for a while and couldn't believe it when I found this.. Really want to try this one, I love calzone! Ella x

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so good. *goes to shop
    to buy cauliflower*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Delicious! Tried a cauliflower crust pizza ages ago, takes a long time but worth it if you miss pizza!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's pretty cool how cauliflower can create something like pizza! I've tried cauliflower rice and it's not bad as a substitute. This looks delicious!! I haven't had pizza in AGES! Good pizza that is... gluten free pizza is just CRAP. But this actually looks incredible! I'm definitely gonna keep this in mind!

    ~Andrea Tiffany~
    aglimpseofglam.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Catherine loves30 June 2016 at 05:13

    I haven't tried cauliflower pizza yet, but am feeing inspired now. Does it taste like cauliflower?
    Would <3 you to check out my blog!
    cathy x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Delicious! We have cauliflower crust every Friday- I look forward to it all week!
    Love from across the pond! Paula XO

    ReplyDelete

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