Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Shaved Asparagus + Prosciutto
My husband likes to eat low-carb—which is terrible!
Yes, I know it's good for me, and yes, someone like me who consumes carbs like a junkie could obviously use a break, but I just don't want to!
Especially when it comes to pizza!
But what if there was a pizza that was big on flavor yet low on carbs?
This is a game changer: Cauliflower Crust Pizza.
There is plenty of cheese, it still warms your belly—it just doesn't add to it—and you can get as creative as you want with the toppings.
The crust uses cauliflower instead of flour; anytime a substitution like that works without sacrificing taste, I’m on board!
In fact I'm the captain of that tasty ship!
Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Shaved Asparagus + Prosciutto
makes: One 10- to 12-inch pizza
Cauliflower Crust:
- 1 small head cauliflower (about 1 ½ pounds), broken into florets
- 1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
Asparagus + Prosciutto Topping:
- 5 asparagus stalks (about 3 ounces)
- 1 Fresno chile
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- Zest of half a lemon
- Kosher salt
- 1 to 2 slices prosciutto
- Olive oil
Cauliflower Crust:
- Place the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. You may need to stir as you go to make sure the bigger pieces don’t sit on the top. You should have about 4 cups.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the cauliflower in a large saucepan along with ½ inch of water. Cover and cook on medium-high until tender—5 to 7 minutes. Drain and let cool. When the cauliflower is cool enough to handle transfer it to a kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth; roll up the cloth and twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Squeeze hard to get out all the excess water, this is crucial to getting a good crust. Once done you should have 1 to 1 ½ cups of dry cauliflower.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the cauliflower, mozzarella, oregano, garlic powder, and salt together. Add the egg and mix to combine. Don’t be worry if the mixture seems too wet and loose. Transfer the cauliflower mixture to the baking sheet and shape it into a 10- to 12-inch-diameter round, about ½-inch thick.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the crust until golden brown—about 20 minutes. While it bakes, prepare the topping (below). When the crust is done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the heat up to 475°F.
- Spread the ricotta topping mixture over the crust. Scatter the asparagus and chiles over the top and then sprinkle them with a little salt and add a drizzle of olive oil. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pizza for 10 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, scatter the prosciutto over the top; cut into wedges and serve.
Asparagus + Prosciutto Topping:
- Use a vegetable peeler to completely shave the asparagus spears into thin ribbons; place in a small bowl. Cut the chile crosswise into thin rounds. Stir together the ricotta, thyme, lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon salt in a second small bowl. Cut the prosciutto into ½-inch-wide strips.
Keep It Simple:
- Since you are spending a bit of time on the crust, you may want to spend less prepping the topping. Store bought pizza sauce or plain ricotta right out of the container both work as a great base for some veggies.
- Fresno chiles are fully ripe jalapenos and have a fruity heat. If you can't find them use any hot pepper, or skip and use red pepper flakes and sweet peppers instead.
- Prosciutto is an especially tasty form of cured and aged pork leg, but it can easily be replaced with ham, pancetta, or even cooked bacon.
50/50:
- With or without the prosciutto, this is a super satisfying pie. But if you don’t want one 50/50 pie, make 2 individual pizzas out of this recipe.
FF:
- The cauliflower crust will quickly become a staple in your home. Be sure to make extra so you have it on hand. Make the pie to completion except for the prosciutto, cool and freeze; when you’re ready to eat, bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes until hot and crisp; top with the prosciutto and serve. Or freeze the crusts with no topping, let thaw in the fridge, top and bake as instructed above.
- The more you process the cauliflower the less you'll see bits of cauliflower and the more it will look like a traditional crust.
