Main dish

Anna Jones's Cauliflower Pizza recipe

Name: Anna Jones's Cauliflower Pizza
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 2
Ingredients: olive or rapeseed oil; 100g oats; 1 medium head cauliflower; 100g ground almonds; 1 tsp dried oregano; salt and black pepper; 2 large eggs, beaten; 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 cloves garlic; 2 tins chopped tomatoes; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp dried oregano; large handful fresh basil, stalks included; salt and black pepper; a ball of buffalo mozzarella; 2 tbsp caramelised red onions; a few stalks of rainbow chard, sliced; fresh basil

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A lighter pizza where the base is made from cauliflower, oats, and almonds. A good tomato sauce is a must and leftover sauce can be frozen for next time.

Prep30m
Cook30m
Total1h

anna-jones vegetarian

Cauliflower pizza with chard and red onion

Anna Jones's cauliflower pizza recipe is really tasty but it helps not to think of it as a traditional pizza. I've made it countless times and although I love bread based pizzas, this cauliflower alternative is a good choice if you're craving pizza but want a lighter option.

My first attempt was lacklustre but showed promise. The original recipe suggests using half a tin of chopped tomatoes, basil and olive oil for the sauce but I found that tinned tomatoes didn't cut it. I now make a big batch of strong tomato sauce (enough for three large rectangular pizzas) and freeze the leftovers or I use a good quality, thick passata. The sauce doesn't take long to make and because it gets blended there's no need to finely chop anything so it's pretty low effort.

If the cauliflower I'm using is large (my last one weighed 550g when chopped into florets) I add an extra egg to help the mixture bind but two eggs is normally enough for a medium sized cauliflower.

My favourite toppings include rainbow chard, onions, black olives, fresh basil, goat's cheese, pesto and the controversial pineapple (not all at once). I'm greedy when it comes to portion sizes but I find that this pizza is satisfying for two to share.

Notes

This recipe requires a food processor.

Makes one large, rectangular pizza (my tin measures approximately 43cm x 28cm) or two 25cm (10”-ish) round pizzas.

Anna Jones' vegetarian cookbook, A Modern Way to Eat (affiliate link), is a favourite of mine. I've been using it for just under a year and it contains some incredible recipes, in particular, Proper Chilli, Ribollita and Lemon Lentil Soup. I can't recommend it enough.

Recipe

Anna Jones's Cauliflower Pizza

Prep30m
Cook30m
Total1h

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Pizza base

olive or rapeseed oil
100g oats
1 medium head cauliflower
100g ground almonds
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten

Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp dried oregano
large handful fresh basil, stalks included
salt and black pepper

Toppings (whatever you like)

a ball of buffalo mozzarella
2 tbsp caramelised red onions
a few stalks of rainbow chard, sliced
fresh basil

Method

For the base

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a large baking tray with good quality greaseproof paper (my tray is 44cm by 30cm) and drizzle over some oil.
Briefly blitz 100g of oats in a food processor then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Chop a medium cauliflower into small florets and process in a food processor until you have fine crumbs (I have to do this in batches as my food processor is small).
Tip the cauliflower into the bowl with the processed oats then add 100g of ground almonds and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano. Give everything a good stir and season generously with salt and pepper.
Make a well in the middle of the cauliflower mixture and pour in 2 large, beaten eggs. Mix until everything comes together. The dough will feel wet and won't be stretchy like regular pizza dough.
Place the dough onto the oiled baking tray and flatten it out until it's about 0.5cm thick and slightly thicker around the edges. I either make a large rectangular pizza or two round pizzas.
Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the base just starts to colour.

While the dough is baking make the pizza sauce (or use good quality, thick passata)

Place a medium saucepan over a low heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil.
Add 2 roughly sliced garlic cloves to the saucepan and fry for a few minutes until they start to colour.
Turn the heat under the saucepan up to medium and add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes along with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of tomato purée, 1 teaspoon of oregano and handful of basil (stalks included).
Let the sauce bubble until it has reduced by a third or so then taste it and season with salt and pepper.
Blend until smooth (I use a stick blender) then divide into three portions, two to be used later. The extra portions can be frozen.

To finish the pizza

Increase the oven temperature to 240°C (220°C fan).
Remove the pizza base from the oven and pour over the pizza sauce spreading it right to the edges.
Add the toppings, tear over a ball of mozzarella and finish with fresh basil. Drizzle over extra olive oil if you like.
Place back into the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to turn golden brown.
Remove the pizza from the oven and divide into slices. Take care when removing the slices as they can be delicate. I use a fish slice or a long turner to transfer them to pre-warmed plates.