Cauliflower Pizza Base

Ingredients (for the base)
1-2 Cauliflower
100g of ground almonds
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)
Ingredients (for the toppings)

227g of canned tomatoes
1 garlic glove (crushed)
1 tbsp spoon of tomato puree
1 bag of spinach
100g of smoked salmon or chicken
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 tomato
3-4 mushrooms
¼ cup of grated Edam cheese

Method
Heat oven to 180 C . Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stalk end, then cut into chunks. Blitz half the cauliflower in a food processor until finely chopped, like rice. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining half. Tip all the cauliflower in a bowl, cover with cling film and microwave on High for 5-6 mins until softened. Tip onto a clean tea towel and leave to cool a little. Once cool enough to handle, scrunch up the tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cauliflower, then transfer to a clean bowl. Stir in the ground almonds, egg, oregano and plenty of seasoning. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and grease with oil. Mound the cauliflower mix into the centre of the tray, then use a spoon and your hands to spread out into a 30cm round. Make it a little thicker at the edges to create a ‘crust’. Bake for 15-18 mins until golden brown and starting to crisp a little at the edges.

To make the tomato sauce, whizz the canned tomatoes, tomato purée, garlic and some seasoning in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook gently for 8-10 mins until thick (you don’t want any watery tomato soaking into the cauliflower base). Tear half the basil leaves and stir through the sauce.

Once the cauliflower base is cooked, set aside to cool a little & pat dry with a towel. Turn the oven up to 200 C, Spread the tomato sauce over the base, add all the toppings and return to the oven for 10-12 mins. Before serving, shave over a little more cheese and scatter with the remaining basil leaves.