Veggie Pizza with Cheesy Cauliflower Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower head, roughly
  • chopped (about 3 pounds)
• Cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided.
• ½ cup presliced
  • cremini mushrooms
• ½ cup sliced
  • red bell pepper
• ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
• ¼ teaspoon freshly
  • ground black pepper, divided
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2.5 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about ⅔ cup), divided
• 2 large egg whites
• 0.5 ounce grated
  • Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup thinly sliced
  • seeded tomatoes
• ⅔ cup fresh baby spinach

Procedure

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. 2. Place half of cauliflower in a food processor; pulse 10 to 15 times or until finely chopped (like rice). Transfer cauliflower to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat procedure with remaining cauliflower. Coat cauliflower with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, stirring once. Cool.
3. 3. Increase oven temp to 450°.
4. 4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add mushrooms and bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
5. 5. Place cauliflower in a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze until very dry. Combine cauliflower, remaining 1 teaspoon oil, ¼ cup basil, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, salt, garlic, 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, egg whites, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Press cauliflower mixture into 2 (8-inch) circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Coat crusts with cooking spray.
6. 6. Bake crusts at 450° for 22 minutes or until browned. Remove pan from oven; top crusts evenly with mushroom mixture, tomatoes, spinach, remaining ¼ cup basil, remaining ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, and remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 7 minutes or until cheese melts.

Hands-on: 25 min. Total: 60 min.

SERVES 2 (serving size: 1 pizza)

CALORIES 350; FAT 15.8g (sat 6g, mono 5.7g, poly 1g); PROTEIN 26g; CARB 32g; FIBER 11g; CHOL 25mg; IRON 3mg; SODIUM 658mg; CALC 488mg