Heritage

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Zucchini pizza crust (Gluten Free and Paleo)


I'm sure you've heard of the cauliflower crust, it's been a bit of a craze lately.  I've had it bookmarked for ages but then when I came upon this zucchini crust I just had to make it, of course I had a bunch of zucchini on hand so here we go... 

Now there are a couple of recipes out there I'm sure and I followed a general guide but really this is my own method. 

For 2 plate size pizzas you need: 


7 medium zucchinis, grated. Remove ends and grate on the large side of the box grater. 

Add 1 tbsp salt and mix using a big spoon or hands. Now add it to a colander over top a big bowl or over the sink to drain the liquid. You could weigh the top down by placing a bowl inside the colander over the zucchini and placing another heavy item inside the bowl. 

In the meantime make the sauce: 


1 can whole tomatoes, san marzano are the best. Drain the tomatoes out of the liquid and chop. 

In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp olive oil, Add chopped garlic (as much as you like) and add tomatoes. Season and saute then put on medium low with the lid off until all the water evaporates and it's a nice chunky dry sauce. 

(refer to the pic below to get an idea) 

Now squeeze out all the water from the zucchini using your hands by squishing a half a cup at a time between your palms and letting the liquid drip away.  Place the squished zucchini into a small saucepan or microwave safe dish. 

Now you either microwave on high for 3 mins or you can steam in a saucepan on high for 3-4 minutes. 

I don't really like using a microwave so I went the stove top method. Now again place the zucchini back in the colander and let it cool.  Once cool squeeze out more juice. Taste and it should be nice and flavourful not too salty. 

Add 1 egg

5 tbsp almond meal (ground almond or almond flour) 
3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese (The real deal!) 
1/2 cup grated mozarella cheese. 
Black pepper and a dash of granulated garlic


Mush it all up and roll it into 2 balls. Place on a baking sheet and bake. Some recipes say to grease/spray the pan but honestly with all the cheese I didn't want any extra fat and surprisingly it does brown up from the cheese so you don't need to. 

Bake on 450 F until it's bubbly and browned. 

Remove from the oven and spread the sauce over top and add more cheese and toppings. I used halloumi cheese which I've sliced and soaked in some warm water for about 30 minutes to remove the excess salt then drained it well and pressed it on a paper towel. Add fresh herbs like basil after baking or a nice handful of fresh arugula with a squeeze of lemon! MMMmmm. 






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