Mmmm, pizza.
Once upon a time, when we didn’t know then what we know now about the depth of our food intolerances, there was such fun in our lives called Pizza Night.
Most of the time it was homemade. Occasionally it was Trader Joe’s whole wheat crust.
Once in a while it was Papa Murphy’s take and bake.
And we all looked forward to it.
Then I began making it gluten free.
And we were mostly happy with the results. I mean, mostly ok. Most of us.
It took time to land on what reliably worked each time, and as I look back I’m thinking that perhaps we didn’t nail one because we kind of just stopped homemade pizza night.
And I miss it. For sure if mama misses it, other people miss it.
Then seven months ago I began eating grain free because my health depended upon it.
I don’t miss it (grain). Not for a second.
Until one night about 6 weeks ago when I decided:
a) I wanted pizza, and,
b) I had no idea how I would pull it off.
Then I remembered I had some zucchini in the fridge from a friend’s garden. Pinterest had forever embedded in my mind that it’s possible to create a pizza crust out of things like cauliflower and zucchini, so I did a little digging because I wasn’t convinced it would actually taste good. And I love cauliflower and zucchini.
The two recipes I found called for 5 cups and 8 cups of shredded zucchini each.
I had 1 cup.
At this point, however, I was in the world of Expectations as people under my roof were excited for the possibility of pizza. There was no looking back.
Admittedly, the first time I made it I threw 1/2 cup of Pamela’s Mix in to make the difference because I was so afraid it wouldn’t turn out.
Until it did, so I tried again without Pam and it was soggy. The third run was the money run, my friends. I had successfully created a grain free pizza crust.
This isn’t just any pizza crust. You can actually hold the slice in your hand like you would any other pizza. It’s not soggy and it holds its own with the toppings of olives, shredded goat cheese, and canadian bacon.
And most importantly, it made people happy around here.
I feel a moment of silence is necessary. I mean, look at that crust.
Grain Free Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp oregano
- 3/4 cup almond flour plus 1/2 cup additional almond flour OR, grind 1/2 cup pistachios and add to the 3/4 cup almond flour for a great kick of flavor
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ***if you're not dairy free you can add 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan or romano cheese into crust mix for flavor.
- ***set aside a small bowl of water to keep your hands from sticking to dough
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place piece of parchment paper on baking sheet.
- Shred zucchini and wrap/strain through cheesecloth or clean dish towel until no more liquid releases upon wringing the cloth/towel.
- Place zucchini and egg in mixing bowl and stir together. IF you're adding grated parmesan or romano, now is when you would add it. In another bowl mix dry ingredients together and slowly turn into zucchini/egg mixture.
- Form into a ball and tip onto parchment paper. Dip your hands in bowl of water or under faucet and slowly spread into circle of desired size. Our pizza crusts were 10"-12" each. When your hands begin to stick, rinse them again and go back to spreading the crust until complete.
- Place crust alone in oven to pre-bake for about 20 minutes.
- While crust is pre-baking, prepare your toppings. We used black olives, canadian bacon, and shredded goat cheese. For one of them we also added garlic sautéed swiss chard.
- When crust is done with pre-bake, add toppings and bake again until golden around edges, another 14-20 minutes, depending upon toppings and thickness of crust.
And when it’s complete, you’ll have a tasty and beautiful pizza.
One thing we found interesting is that two pieces per person, along with a side salad, was enough for everyone. In the past we would need to make at least two pizzas or order the large family sized Papa Murphy’s to fill us up. Hooray for nutrient dense food!
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