Smithtown Dish – small bites of foodie news

By Nancy Vallarella 

Vegging Out

Here is a great recipe from the folks from Meatless Monday.

Although it received mixed reviews in my household, it disappeared quickly. The biggest complaint was the texture of the crust which had only a hint of crispness. The cauliflower, egg and cheese mixture for the crust produces a thin frittata consistency. I recommend baking the crust on the back of a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Modifications of convenience were made. All of the cheeses were replaced with Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio and Uncle Giuseppe’s Italian Seasoning was used in place of the green spices.  

My additional veggies of choice were asparagus, zucchini, and sliced fennel in addition to the sweet potato and kale. The fennel was the star addition. It came through slightly with a clean and bright finish. 

Get creative. Develop different veggie combinations. The folks at Elegant Eating turned the crust into toasts and topped with goat cheese and grapes.

• 1 small head of cauliflower, stems removed, leaving only the florets
• 1/2 cup (60g) mozzarella, split
• 1/4 cup (25g) parmesan
• 1/4 cup (60g) cheese of choice (I used cheddar)
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 egg

For the Toppings

• 1/2 cup (135g) sweet potato, peeled, and chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup kale (65g) in small pieces
• 1/2 cup (60g) vegetable 1 of your choice (such as summer squash)
• 1/2 cup (25g) vegetable 2 of your choice (such as mushrooms)

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Put the cauliflower florets into a food processor. Blend until it becomes fine pieces (some say it looks like snow). Place the cauliflower in a microwaveable bowl, heat, covered, for 3 minutes to cook through. Place the cauliflower onto a tea towel/dish towel laid out flat. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Twist up the dish towel around the cauliflower, and squeeze over a sink, as hard as you can, for a few minutes to remove as much liquid as possible. The more you remove, the crispier your pizza will be! Empty the cauliflower into a bowl (and throw that dish towel into the washing right away….it begins to smell pretty quickly!)

Add 1/4 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper into the bowl. Stir well. Add the egg and stir until it is well distributed, and sticky.

Using your hands, combine the “crust” into a ball, it will be pretty wet. Place the ball onto a greased pizza stone (or back of a greased baking tray) and press down to even out to make a round circle crust. It should be a little thicker than a usual thin crust pizza.

Put aside for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, brush the sweet potato with oil and put on a baking tray. Place in the oven; remove after 10 minutes to move sweet potatoes around so the potato does not stick. Add the other vegetables with a little oil, and cook for another 10 minutes or until the potato is soft. Remove and give the vegetables a few minutes cool for you to be able to handle them.  At the same time the potatoes go back in, place the crust in the oven for 15 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown.

Remove the pizza crust from the oven, use a spatula or pie server to gently go under the crust to ensure it has not stuck. Layer with 1/2 the remaining mozzarella and half the other cheese. Place the cooked vegetables on top, along with the kale, and cover with all the remaining cheese.

Place back in the oven for 10 minutes, before turning the oven to broil for the remaining 5 minutes until it the cheese begins to bubble and brown.

Cut into slices, and carefully lift onto plates! Enjoy!