I made these tonight and they were really yummy. I riced my cauliflower in a food processor and since I don’t have a microwave I baked it at 350 for about 6 minutes after ricing it. I was not mushy but I would have liked it a but crispier, next time I would bake it a little longer.
Ingredients :
- Cooking spray
- 1/4 of a large fresh head of cauliflower (about 5 1/2 oz/160 g)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 4 oz (115 g) mozzarella cheese, freshly grated and divided (low-fat cheese is fine)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning, divided
- 1 pinch each salt and pepper
- Marinara sauce, for serving (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper so that the excess paper hangs over the sides; lightly spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- To “rice” the cauliflower, grate it on a cheese grater; you should have about 1 1/2 cups (lightly packed) of riced cauliflower.
- Put the riced cauliflower into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave (uncovered) until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally (don’t add water or anything else); cool slightly.
- While the cauliflower cooks, heat the oil in a small skillet over low heat; add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly; cool slightly.
- To the bowl with the softened cauliflower, add the garlic, egg, 3/4 of the cheese (reserving 1/4 for topping later), 1/4 teaspoon of the dried Italian herb seasoning (reserving 1/4 teaspoon for topping later), and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine, and then spread in the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake until the loaf is set and starting to turn golden, about 30 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper; use the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the loaf pan and carefully flip it over onto the lined baking sheet (so the bottom is on top).
- Bake until golden, about 10 minutes.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Cut the loaf cross-wise into 8 pieces.
- Slightly separate the pieces and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of the cheese on top, along with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning.
- Broil a couple minutes until the cheese is melted and golden in spots.
- Serve hot or warm.
- Note that if you let it cool for about 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven, the crust will harden a bit so it’s easy to hold like a thin-crust pizza.