Cauliflower-crust Pizza with Butternut Squash and Chipotle-Chicken Sausage

Pizzinterest: Pinterest-inspired Pizza! I have come across some wonderful pizza recipes on Pinterest lately, including one with a cauliflower crust from the blog Eat.Drink.Smile (http://www.eat-drink-smile.com/2011/04/cauliflower-crust-pizza.html) and one made with thin-sliced butternut squash on a garlic-olive-oil base, (http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/10/21/butternut-squash-and-crispy-sage-pizza-five-minutes-a-day-style/).


I decided to combine the two into an super-veggie-full, low-carb dinner. I also found a few more ways to make it weight-watchers friendly, so one-quarter of the pizza turns out to be about 5 points+, or 4 points+ without the chicken sausage if you want it to be all-vegetarian. Despite the low points, this has a rich flavor that is so satisfying.


To roast the Butternut Squash:

Cut off the skin, and use a mandolin to slice the squash very thin. Place in a single layer on a oiled (I used Pam spray) baking sheet, spray with more oil, and season with sea salt and crushed red pepper. Bake on 400 for about 15-20 minutes, until the edges are crispy. (These make delicious chips to eat as a snack too!)

 To make the crust:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Take one whole head of cauliflower, leaves removed, and cut into small florets. Working in batches, pulse on high in a food processor for about a minute until it has a mealy texture. Place in a micro-wave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cook for 8 minutes.You'll end up with about 3-4 C. Take 1 C. cauliflower, 1 C of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese and 2 egg whites and mix together in a bowl. Add 1 t. dried oregano, 1/2 t. of garlic salt and 1 t. minced garlic. Place on an oiled pizza pan and spread out to a 10 inch diameter circle. Bake for 15 minutes in the 450 oven.

After the crust is cooled a bit, I added a t. of olive oil and spread it around the crust. Then I mixed together 2 cloves of minced garlic with 1/4 C. part-skim ricotta cheese, then spread it evenly on the crust. 


Next, I added my toppings: the roasted butternut squash, some diced roasted red peppers from a jar, and some thinly sliced pieces of a chipotle-chicken sausage dogs I found at the store and couldn't resist. I topped with about 1/4 C. part-skim mozz and baked together for about 5-7 minutes.

This meal was so tasty!! I think the best part was the garlic-infused ricotta- it was so delicious with the strong garlic balanced by the mild ricotta. You also have to eat it with a fork, since the crust isn't sturdy enough to pick up, but the dish still gave us the deep satisfaction that you'd get from traditional pizza. I still have a few cups of cauliflower ready to make a few more crusts later this week. So glad I tried this!!! Ted was pretty happy about it too. :)