A Slice of Vegas Featuring Gluten-Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza

A Slice of Vegas

I was inspired by the folks over at Vegas.com to create a special pizza and participate in a virtual pizza party in honor of The International Pizza Expo coming to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 7 - 10, 2016. And who doesn't love pizza?

I picked my personal favorite Las Vegas hotel and themed my pizza after it. My hands-down favorite hotel is The Palazzo. A simple stroll around the expansive and luxurious property transports me to the streets of Venice with quaint little shops, the Grand Canal and gondolas floating by. It's classically elegant and definitely a different experience than almost anywhere else on the strip. So I instantly thought of my Margarita Cauliflower Crust Pizza. It's simple, yet elegant and certainly not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill pizza. Which hotel is your favorite?

This lusciously thin crust made from only cauliflower, Asiago, an egg and some seasoning holds up nicely to its basil, tomato and mozza toppings. It's melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The perfect taste of Italy.

Margarita Cauliflower Crust Pizza (gluten-free, grain-free)
adapted from Food Network

makes one 13-inch round pizza

Oven 425 degrees, place pizza stone in oven while preheating

Ingredients for Crust:
1 small to medium size head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces with leaves and stem removed
1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Ingredients for Toppings:
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup marinara sauce (I use Rao's Marinara)
1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced
1 ball of buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
fresh basil

Special Equipment:
You'll need a pizza stone and a pizza peel. You'll also want to have on hand some parchment paper, a food processor fitted with the cutting blade and a clean, dry kitchen towel that you will use for removing the moisture from the cauliflower.

Step One
Make sure your oven is preheating to 425 degrees with your pizza stone inside of it.

Step Two
Gather up your special equipment and ingredients to make your crust.

Step Three
Place the cauliflower in your food processor fitted with the cutting blade and pulse until you achieve a grain-like texture, the finer the better.

Step Four
Place the cauliflower in a clean, dry kitchen towel, wrap tightly and wring out the moisture.

Keep wringing it out until no more moisture comes out. This is a very important step which will help keep the crust together.

This is what your cauliflower will look like once the moisture is removed:

Step Five
In a large bowl, place the cauliflower and add the other crust ingredients (cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper) then mix with a large spoon or your hands.

Step Six
Line your pizza peel with a sheet of parchment paper. Place your crust mixture in the middle and form a large circle by pressing and patting with your hands. Make sure it's an even thickness (about 1/4 to 1/2" thick).

Step Seven
Now it's time to bake your crust. Carefully slide the parchment paper and crust off of your peel and onto your hot pizza stone in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

Using your peel, carefully slide the parchment paper and crust off of the hot stone and onto the peel. Leave the oven on and the stone in as you will be baking for a few more minutes after you top your crust.

Step Eight
Immediately top the crust with your shredded Asiago and shredded mozzarella cheeses. Do this FIRST so that it will help hold the crust together.

Next, spoon the marinara sauce onto the cheese-covered crust and spread evenly. This will be a very light coating. Too much and it will make your crust soggy.

Lastly, top with thin slices of tomato and buffalo mozzarella.

Step Nine
Slide your parchment paper and pizza from the peel back onto the stone and bake for about 4 minutes or until hot, browned and bubbly.

Remove from oven, garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!