Last year during Passover, we were invited to eat at our Cousin’s house. Dorit, who I consider to be one of the most creative cooks I know, had prepared a variety of unique dishes for Pesach, but the one that intrigued me most was a pizza made with a potato crust. It was delicious and seemed like a healthier option than the usual matzo pizza. So I decided to give it a whirl this year.

I started researching potato crust pizza recipes and before I knew it, I’d come upon something even more intriguing – lots of different recipes for pizza crust made with something called cauliflower rice like this one: Cauliflower Pizza Crust from SparkRecipes. It seemed like an even healthier option than potatoes so I bought the ingredients and got started.

Passover Pizza with Cauliflower Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cauliflower cooked rice (See recipe I used below. I also actually used about 3 cups of the cauliflower rice to get enough “dough” to cover my entire pizza pan)
• Egg, fresh, 1 large
• Mozerella or pizza cheese mix, 1 cup, shredded
• Fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Dried oregano, ground, 1 tsp
• Dried parsley, dried, 2 tsp
• Kosher for Passover Pizza sauce (I used Gefen)
• Toppings (I used fresh mushroom slices and olives but be creative and use your favorite toppings)
• Shredded Mozzarella or Pizza cheese for topping the pizza

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Beat egg, add the cauliflower, shredded cheese, fennel, oregano and parsley.  Mix, then press into a greased pizza pan.

Bake at 450 for 12 to 15 minutes.  If you double the recipe cook 15 to 20 minutes.

Add sauce, desired pizza toppings and cheese. Bake until brown and cheese is bubbly. Broiling for a few minutes works well.

Cauliflower Rice

I found lots of recipes for Cauliflower Rice and am so sorry but can’t find a link to the actual one I used but do a Google Search and go with the one that seems easiest to you. Some call for using the microwave or a pan of water on the stove. The Saute method seemed like the quickest route to me.

Ingredients:

• 1 Head Cauliflower
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Salt and Ground Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Remove core, leaves and wash cauliflower. Dry all pieces thoroughly before processing.

Place cauliflower pieces into your food processor. Pulse until cauliflower pieces are small and have the texture of rice BUT stop before the cauliflower gets mushy.

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium head. Add cauliflower to pan. Add salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes (or until outside of cauliflower is slightly crispy and inside is still soft).

Verdict:

This pizza smelled amazing when it was cooking and tasted even better when it was hot and fresh out of the oven. The crust is not thick enough that you can actually pick it up like a regular pizza so have a fork handy. It’s also best eaten right away although I did reheat it the 2nd day. While it tasted great, the crust was very mushy.

What creative cooking ideas do you have for Passover?

Happy Pesach and Happy Kosher Treif Cooking!