The Oklahoman

Serve pizza crust with dose of vitamins

- BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN Associated Press Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook “Supermarke­t Healthy.”

Cauliflowe­r is as healthy as our moms told us, providing a hefty dose of vitamins, including C, K, B6 and folate, as well as smaller doses of other vitamins and minerals, plus filling protein and fiber. All in about 25 calories per cup.

So, it’s a worthy vegetable, and now available in “riced” form in mainstream grocery stores across the country.

For pizza crust, steamed, riced cauliflowe­r is mixed with a binder (usually egg and cheese), and then shaped into a pizza crust shape, baked and then topped with traditiona­l pizza toppings. riced cauliflowe­r in a microwaves­afe dish with 2 tablespoon­s of water, cover and cook in microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Remove from microwave, drain off water, gently pressing out excess moisture with a spoon, and cool.

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the egg with the cheeses, garlic and Italian seasoning. Place the cooled cauliflowe­r in several paper towels, or in a thin clean dish towel, and gently but firmly squeeze out excess moisture. (You may be surprised by how much liquid you can squeeze out.)

• Add the squeeze cauliflowe­r to the egg and cheese mixture. Sprinkle in the coconut flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Mixture will not stick together like regular dough.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 mounds, and gently shape them into pizza crusts, doing your best to push the dough together to make clean edges. Bake until dark golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Flip with a spatula. If using, sprinkle the bottom of the sheet with a little cornmeal when you flip the crusts.

• Top the crusts with any sauce, cheese, toppings and bake until melted, about 10 more minutes.

You can bake extra crusts without toppings and freeze them for future use. 157 calories; 70 calories from fat; 8 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 70 mg cholestero­l; 495 mg sodium; 12 g carbohydra­te; 4 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 11 g protein.

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