Mediterranean Pizza Bites with Cauliflower Crust
Prep Time
30 minutes
Prep Notes
Time saver tip: Make the crust ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Place in oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes (or until warmed through). Add topping of choice!
Cooking Time
40 minutes
Yields
2 dozen appetizer
Ingredients
Crust:
1 head cauliflower
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp Italian spices
1 tsp chopped garlic
3 oz goat cheese ( you can substitute cottage cheese here)
½ tsp salt
Topping:
1 cup chopped white or portabello mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
Olive Oil
¾ cups Kalamata olives, pitted, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes or ¼ can chopped tomatoes
6 leaves fresh basil or ½ tsp dried
black pepper
4 ounces goat cheese
Directions
Crust:
- Set oven to 375°F.
- Rice cauliflower in food processor.
- Fill pot with about 1 inch water and put on stove to boil. Place cauliflower in pot and boil for 5 minutes.
- Remove cauliflower and strain through a cotton kitchen towel, squeezing out as much fluid as possible. You may wish to wait for it to cool a bit. Transfer to bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients to cauliflower and mix thoroughly. “Dough” will have the consistency of a thick batter.
- For appetizers: Spoon 1 tsp of mixture onto cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon liner. Shape into small flat round, about 1.5 inches in diameter. Repeat for all of mixture. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning at halfway point, until edges are browned. Continue baking until golden brown and crisping on the edges.
- For full pie: I lined a large round baking dish with foil. Spray with olive oil. Pour in batter and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes. When the pie has set (about half way through baking time) flip pie over onto the first layer of foil. Bake until edges get crispy.
- Pre heat oven to 350°F.
- Begin chopping, mincing, and dicing all the veggies, small enough that each pizza cake has a little bit of every flavor.
- Sauté mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, basil, and peppers in olive oil for about 5 minutes until tender.
- Combine sautéed mushrooms and peppers in a bowl with the chopped olives and feta cheese.
- Top each cauliflower cake with veggie mix.
- Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Broil for a couple of minutes at end to brown tops if desired.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Tip: If you want more of a crust feel, bake until edges are crispy and golden. It took me a couple of times to let it bake long enough, but it was worth it. You don't get as firm a crust as with pizza dough, but it is a good substitute! Baking less time yields a softer crust, but still yummy in flavor!
