Although I’ve seen many recipes using cauliflower as a substitution for grain, the recipe inspiration for cauliflower bread and crust came from www.theironyou.com. It was suggested that we try it at a cooking demo that I did with my JOtDT group. (Thanks to Debbie for coming up with the suggestion).
The issue that I had with the recipe from ironyou is that I don’t have a microwave to cook the cauliflower and it didn’t look like I was going to be able to squeeze out much water as a result. So I sautéed it in a dry ceramic pan and added psyllium to the mix to absorb the extra water.
It turned out beautifully. Yummy, filling, and a great base for melted cheese (check out his photo at theironyou) and for eggs and spinach. I can imagine how wonderful it would be as the base of an eggs benedict.
1 head cauliflower, leaves and brown spots trimmed off (makes 5 – 6 cups of riced cauliflower)
2 eggs, beaten
3 tb psyllium husks
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste (I use a lot)
1 tb extra virgin olive oil
2 tb finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp cumin or other favourite herb(s) – (I suspect Mediterranean herbs would work well)
Heat oven to 350°F. Rack should be in second slot from the bottom.
Cut or break the cauliflower into small/medium sized flowerets. Using a food processor with a standard blade, rice the cauliflower in four batches. If you put too much into the processor at any given time, you will have some large un-riced pieces. You want it to look like rice but not be too pulverized. As you rice each batch, unload it into a large fry pan , preferably a ceramic non-stick if you have it. On medium heat, sauté the cauliflower for 5 minutes, stirring consistently to cook it evenly.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. When the cauliflower has been lightly sautéed, add it to the eggs, along with the salt, pepper and psyllium. Let that sit while you heat the oil on medium and add the chopped garlic. Stir that for one minute and then turn the heat off. Add the cumin seeds or any other herb you are using. Let the herb and garlic permeate the oil for another minute. Then add it to the cauliflower and mix it well.
I like to use unbleached parchment paper on my baking sheet so I don’t have to use extra oil. It also saves on clean up. Split the cauliflower batter into six servings (this makes reasonably large pieces of bread) or more if you want smaller sizes. Or you can make a crust by keeping it as one large base. Using a fork, form it into a square or any other shape you want, making sure the top is evenly flattened.
Bake at 350 for 16 minutes or until you can see that the underside has turned crusty brown. Then turn the broiler on and broil for another 10 minutes so the tops turn brown.
Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving or adding the next round of food such as cheese or pizza sauce.
