![\"Best](\"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Cauliflower-pizza-crust-vegan-gluten-free-5.jpg\" "\\"Best")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You are going to love this recipe. So much healthy goodness piled into one meal, and no bread = no bloating! After many (many) attempts, I’m proud to call this the BEST vegan cauliflower pizza I have ever made, so I really hope you get to re-create it and appreciate it also. The humble cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables, and can be used in such a myriad of ways in place of things like potatoes and flour.<\/p>\n
Cauliflower pizza crusts have been a bit of thing for a long while now, and typically involve replacing the flour with the cauli, adding eggs, cheese, and a bunch of Italian spices.<\/p>\n
However – making an entirely vegan crust is a bit of a different matter. I found lots of fab recipes online that had really simple instructions to just switch out the cheese for nutritional yeast (yep – that will work, flavour wise but not<\/em> texture wise), and the eggs for flax eggs (flax meal + water).<\/p>\n No. Not quite as simple as that I’m afraid.<\/p>\n Here’s why: cheese aside, eggs are what really make the pizza. They are fabulous binders so much so that removing the flour isn’t so much of a big deal (especially when you have melted cheese on your side). If you remove both – you're in for a bit of a mess. You’ll get something that is soft and mushy, or just crumbles and falls apart once baked.<\/p>\n The solution? Flax eggs are a great idea – so let’s stick with them, but, instead of just relying on the cauliflower, add a bit of chickpea flour. Of all the flours, it works a treat as a binder as it holds so much water. There’s nothing chickpeas can’t do when it comes to vegan, GF baking\/cooking. So you’ll see in this recipe, I’ve whipped up a dough, then left it to stand for 20 minutes, to let the flax and chickpea flour do their awesome-water-absorption-thing. The end result? Well, it’s still a cauliflower pizza, so whilst it is<\/em> amazing, we can’t miraculously make it crunchy. In saying that, although still a little soft, you can definitely pick it up with your hands to enjoy. Big tick.<\/p>\n Aside from tasting yummy, it’s nice and healthy. A run-down on the main ingredients:<\/p>\n Cauliflower replaces flour making this lovely and light and totally gluten free. Cauliflower, a cruciferous vegetable, is a great food for the liver – it has the ability to support detoxification pathways by inhibiting phase I and inducing phase II enzyme activity – as excess phase I reactions can result in a build up of toxic intermediary metabolites.<\/p>\n Liver detox 101:<\/strong> the process of liver detoxification refers to the liver’s ability to decrease the impact of toxic substances on bodily processes. The process involves the biotransformation of molecules into a water soluble state ready for excretion and elimination by the body (for example, via the urine). This occurs in two key enzymatic reactions that take place in the liver, phase I and phase II reactions. These reactions need to be balanced, as intermediates produced in phase I reactions can be extremely harmful – ideally you want to have those phase II enzymes working efficiently to swiftly deal to these intermediates, and plenty of antioxidants around to neutralise any damage they cause.<\/em><\/p>\n Cauliflower also supports detoxification pathways due to being a rich source of sulphur. Sulphur-rich foods (including garlic and onions) can help boost your glutathione levels. Glutathione is required in the phase I and II reactions described above. Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant and a powerful detoxifying agent.<\/p>\n Cauliflower (and other cruciferous vegetables) also contain glucosinolates – which are widely regarded as anti-cancer compounds.<\/p>\n Flax<\/a> meal is made from grinding down fresh flax seeds. They are a great source of dietary fibre and omega-3 essential fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid. Flax<\/a> meal is readily oxidised so should be kept in the fridge or freezer to remain fresh. When mixed with water they create ‘flax-eggs’. The general formula is 1 tablespoon flax meal to 3 tablespoons water.<\/p>\n Chickpea flour has awesome water-binding powers and is a fantastic source of plant protein<\/a>. 1 cup will provide just over 20g protein.<\/p>\n Are another sulphur-rich food that can help with endogenous glutathione production. They are a great source of the flavonoid quercetin – which has 3.5 fold the antioxidant activity than curcumin (in turmeric<\/a>). It has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic actions. Read up more about onions in my recent post here, Raw Onion Bread. <\/a><\/p>\n Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast grown on the top of molasses. It is a rich source of protein <\/a>(4g per tablespoon) and B vitamins, which are required for energy production in the body’s cells. It has a cheesy taste so is often used in plant-based recipes as a dairy alternative. In fact, you may like to try my Brazil Nut 'Parmesan'<\/a> recipe out here.<\/p>\n![\"Best](\"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Cauliflower-pizza-crust-vegan-gluten-free-7.jpg\" "\\"Best")
<\/p>\nThe best surface for baking cauliflower pizzas:<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Best](\"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Cauliflower-pizza-crust-vegan-gluten-free-6.jpg\" "\\"Best")
<\/h2>\nThe Best Vegan Cauliflower Pizza<\/h2>\n
Cauliflower<\/h3>\n
Flax Meal<\/h3>\n
Chickpea Flour<\/h3>\n
Onions<\/h3>\n
Nutritional Yeast<\/h3>\n
Roasted Tomato Sauce<\/h3>\n
![\"Best](\"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Cauliflower-pizza-crust-vegan-gluten-free-3.jpg\" "\\"Best")
<\/p>\n![\"Best](\"https:\/\/ascensionkitchen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Cauliflower-pizza-crust-vegan-gluten-free-6-300x300.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n