Chicken and Artichoke Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Chicken and Artichoke Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Being back solidly on a low carb, paleo type diet has caused me to "re-visit" some of my old favorite recipes.  Back in about 2001, in my Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine book, (published by Adams Media, Inc.), I published the first "Rice-A-Flower" recipe, and with it "Fried Rice-A-Flower."  It's amazing what I'm seeing on the internet now!  Folks are taking that kernel of an idea the Lord gave me way back when and doing some crazy amazing things with it!  I'm seeing all sorts of bread products made from eggs and cauliflower.  Crazy cool!  So, the other day I made one of them, of course with my own personal twists.  My friends asked if I would please type it up.  Here it is, all dressed up in it's "Sunday best" as Chicken and Artichoke Cauliflower Crust Pizza.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Artichoke Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Serves 4

In a food processor, finely chop one head cauliflower -- about 4 cups.  I find it easiest to use the chopping blade and feed the florets through the chute one at a time.  There's much less stopping and having to scrape the sides and such.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the riced cauliflower.  Boil it for about 4 minutes, then drain it through a cloth-lined strainer.  Watch out for boil-overs!  Set the strainer aside to drain and let the cauliflower cool down enough to work with.  If there's a hook available the cloth can be tied up and hung like cheese to drain.  Once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as possible.  I ended up with only about a cup of cauliflower left once it was cooked and drained.

Line a large ("quarter sheet"), baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with cooking oil spray. Set this aside.  Pre-heat the oven to 425F.

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer combine well:

The cooked, drained, riced cauliflower (above)
4 eggs
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
4 teaspoons fresh, minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried, minced onion
1 teaspoon Real Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Using a large spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth the batter over the parchment lined baking sheet to form a crust.  Bake it until it is becoming lightly browned, about 20 - 25 minutes at 425F.

At this point, several things can be done with the crust -- it can simply be topped with an additional 2 cups of cheese and baked for another 7 minutes or so until the cheese is melted.*  OR it can be topped with marinara (red) sauce and traditional pizza toppings and baked as suggested...


OR, it can be made into Chicken and Artichoke Pizza!  Instructions below:

Spread about 1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing (good quality) atop the crust.  Top with:

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 - 5 ounce jar natural artichoke hearts, drained and cut into smaller pieces

Additional, optional ingredients:

1 - 10 ounce can natural olives, sliced
4 mushrooms, sliced

Top the pizza with 2 cups shredded Italian-style cheese and about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Lightly sprinkle the cheeses with 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves.

Bake it at 425F for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.  Enjoy!


*Last time I made it with just the cheese topping.  I took two leftover pieces and put them cheese-side together and grilled them to make a Cauliflower Grilled Cheese Sandwich!  Yummy!