Amazing gluten-free pizza with a secret ingredient

No-one could have been more surprised than me that this recipe turned out so well. Gluten-free pizza? Sounds a slightly strange dish to make gluten-free. Gluten-free pizza where the base is actually made from vegetables? It sounds like some kind of crazy health freak dish. But it's actually incredibly delicious.

The vegetable in question is cauliflower. Not even one of my favourite vegetables. But I'd challenge you to realise that it's cauliflower you're eating if you didn't already know. I'm not saying you'll never spot the difference from your usual favourite pizza - the texture and flavour of the base are a bit different from normal. But still delicious.

This recipe is adapted from Green Kitchen Stories. I've only tried a few of their recipes before but they seem born out of a real love of vegetables, plus an appreciation of healthy food that tastes good too. So I was emboldened to make this pizza, strange as it sounds. Plus, I'd just bought a couple of cauliflowers from Brixton farmers' market (for the princely total of £1) so I was all set.

I've tweaked it and simplified the recipe a bit. This was a weeknight dinner, and while I didn't mind making the pizza base and tomato sauce from scratch, I drew the line at making basil and lemon sauce too when I had some perfectly good pesto already in the fridge. And I didn't want to go overboard with the pesto anyway - I love that this pizza is all about the vegetables.

I love the idea of cooking some of the toppings but adding others after cooking - you benefit from the freshness and the complexity of flavours. Your pizza doesn't have to be quite as leafy as the one above, though - see my first, less leafy, version below.

My medium-to-large cauliflower made enough for two pizzas. If you can't get through two pizzas, feel free to halve the recipe. Or, you can bake the second base but don't top it. It will store in the fridge for a couple of days, preferably in an airtight container. I couldn't fit mine in the fridge, so it stayed in the (cold) oven until I ate it the next day, and it didn't seem to come to any harm.

Ingredients 

Pizza base 

1 medium to large cauliflower, leaves and base of stalk removed
160 g / 6 oz ground almonds
1 tbsp dried oregano (you could use dried basil if you prefer, or a mix of both)
5 large eggs, beaten (or 6 medium, which may be easier if you are halving the recipe)

Topping 

2 tins tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch chilli powder
2 courgettes, cut into long thin strips
A drizzle of olive oil
A bunch of fresh spinach, or a bag of about 200g
2-4 teaspoons pesto, to taste
Squeeze of lemon juice
Small bunch fresh basil leaves
Shavings of parmesan, pecorino or Grana Padano

Method

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Break or chop the cauliflower up a bit and put it in a food processor or blender until it has a fine texture like couscous or rice. This happened more quickly than I expected, though you may need to do it in more than one batch.

Measure the cauliflower - you should have about 1200-1300ml. If you have more than this, save the rest for something else. Stir in the ground almonds and the beaten eggs. Mix well - you should have a moist sticky "dough", though it won't have any of the elasticity of pizza dough.

Line your trays with baking parchment and put half the mixture on each, pressing out into a thin and even base (see photo below). Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Uncooked pizza base

Next, put the courgettes on an oven tray or baking dish, drizzle with a little olive oil, and put them in the oven for the same amount of time. (If you are running out of oven space or trays, I suggest cooking the courgettes first, or even the day before, or you could grill them if you have a separate grill).

Put the tinned tomatoes in a pan with the garlic and chilli. Season and simmer until reduced to a thick sauce (about 20-30 minutes, depending partly on the brand of tomatoes).

Wilt half the spinach in the microwave or in a dry saucepan - leave the rest uncooked, though you can chop it if the leaves are on the large side. 

Spread the sauce over the cooked bases, then top with the courgettes and wilted spinach. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes. Top with raw spinach and a squeeze of lemon. Drizzle over the pesto and scatter with the basil leaves and cheese shavings. Serve straight away.