The Beginning of a Love Affair

I know - I am so fickle in love (when it comes to food that is)! I just happened to come across this Paleo gluten-free pizza crust recipe in a wonderful cookbook by Sarah Fragoso - "Everyday Paleo Around the World - Italian Cuisine, Authentic Recipes Made Gluten-Free." Thought I would give it a try; I know I am way behind all those adventurous folks who use cauliflower and broccoli and other substances for a pizza crust. Me bad!

I found this crust really quite easy to make and actually very tasty - just like a pizza crust should be. Except of course, this version doesn't make me wake up in the middle of the night with my sinuses congested...to name a few uncomfortable little side effects of gluten. Hooray!

​I rolled it quite thin so it was crispy - my husband thought it was too thin but I begged to differ. Actually, I just flat out disagreed with him because really who would you side with - me with my Southern Italy roots or him with his Austrian ancestory. Like seriously???  I will leave it with you to decide! :)

​Here's the recipe:

Crust Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• ​1 teaspoon honey (I used organic cane sugar)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• ​3/4 cup almond flour
• ​3 T. coconut flour, sifted
• 2/3 cup arrowroot flour
• pinch sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• ​1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar

​Topping Ingredients:

• ​​1/2 cup approximately of seasoned pizza tomato sauce
• 1 small thinly sliced eggplant and 1 small zucchini (pre-roasted in oven with oil and Italian seasoning)
• 1/2 medium size red onion, sliced in thin rings
• 1 medium sized head of garlic, minced
• 1+ cup of feta cheese
• sprinkle of parmesan cheese
• handful of fresh basil torn and tossed on top
• sprinkle of oregano, salt and pepper
• small sprinkle of red chili flakes

​
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

​In a small bowl, place the warm tepid water, sweetener and yeast - mix together and let sit for about 4-5 minutes until activates and becomes frothy.

​Meanwhile, in a larger bowl, place the dry ingredients and whisk together so they are well blended.

​Add the wet ingredients (egg, olive oil, apple cider vinegar), along with the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer or whisk. 

​Scoop the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread evenly. The original recipe said to use a spatula - I used my rolling pin for a thinner, crispier crust.

​Place in hot oven and bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully flip the crust over and top with your choice of toppings - or you can follow what I did. Either way, it should be delicious!