When it comes to gluten free, dairy free, paleo, vegan, and vegetarian copycat/substitute recipes, to say I'm skeptical is putting it mildly. By and large they never deliver on their promises. The recipes will have descriptions like "taste just like a regular brownie", or "they'll never know it's vegan", bla, bla, bla. I can always tell. To add insult to injury, these recipes always use a bunch of obscure and expensive ingredients that I end up throwing in the trash because the recipe was terrible. I was so hopeful for the Gluten Free Brownies from the Whole Foods blog. All the reviews swore no one would be able to tell there were black beans instead of flour in them. NOT! They just tasted like chocolate black beans. YUCK!
Don't get me wrong here. I have so much sympathy for those of you out there
with food allergies. That is such a burden to bear. If you have to cut certain things
out due to your health please do. Your health comes first. I just think it's better to
give something up than try to re-make it. It never quite works.
When I came upon this recipe for a pizza crust, gluten free, made from "riced" cauliflower, I didn't have high hopes. But, my very dear friend Shelley is so so allergic to gluten, that for her, I decided to give it a try. Plus, the ingredients were simple and inexpensive so the risk was minimal. Boy, howdy, I couldn't believe it. This one worked. Did it taste just like a regular pizza crust? No. But it is a darn good substitute. The texture holds up and the cauliflower is neutral enough that it just takes on the flavor of the pizza sauce and toppings. If you are cutting back or cutting out gluten or trying to cut down on carbs, I would totally recommend giving it a try. Just one thing to keep in mind is that it is way more filling that regular pizza. I was stuffed after just two small pieces. Must be the cauliflower. . .
