brooklyngirl
Yankee gone south
I made this last night, got the recipe from here: http://seattlelocalfood.com/2010/09/12/zucchini-crust-pizza/
I only used the recipe for the crust, as the low fat veggie-centric topping was a waste for me and I added a ton more cheese as well as sausage and pepperoni. I will say that it did not FEEL like pizza. It had the taste of pizza, but definitely not the feel, so if you're looking for crunchy crust, keep looking
You really need to get out as much water from the zucchini as possible so it has a chance to brown in the oven and not just steam. I also added basil and roasted garlic to the crust, and used 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano. I made it into 2 ovals, it might've browned even better as 4 smaller ones.
For the toppings:
Use anything you like on a pizza. General formula:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grate the zucchini.
3. Sprinkle salt on the zucchini and stir. Let it sit a few minutes.
4. Squeeze the water out. I found the easiest way to do this was to wrap it in cheese cloth or butter muslin and squeeze. You can also put the zucchini on one plate and press another plate on top of it, or put it in a colander and press a bowl into it.
5. Mix with egg and grated cheese.
6. Spread parchment paper on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Spread out your dough batter about 1/2 inch thick into a circle.
7. Put it in the oven and cook until it has browned, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, as it is cooking, sauté any toppings you want cooked. I sautéed garlic, onions, mushrooms and Italian parsley.
9. Take the browned bottom crust out of the oven and admire it.
10. Cover it with your toppings.
10. Bake again until crust edges brown further and cheese on top melts into toppings. Take out of oven and add drizzled olive oil, grated black pepper, and optional fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. Serve hot.
(Clearly whoever wrote this recipe cannot count, lol)
I only used the recipe for the crust, as the low fat veggie-centric topping was a waste for me and I added a ton more cheese as well as sausage and pepperoni. I will say that it did not FEEL like pizza. It had the taste of pizza, but definitely not the feel, so if you're looking for crunchy crust, keep looking
You really need to get out as much water from the zucchini as possible so it has a chance to brown in the oven and not just steam. I also added basil and roasted garlic to the crust, and used 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano. I made it into 2 ovals, it might've browned even better as 4 smaller ones.- 1 large egg or 2 small ones
- About 3 small-medium zucchinis (mine were about 8″)
- 1.5 cups grated parmesan or mozzarella. I liked parmesan best for this one.
- salt
For the toppings:
Use anything you like on a pizza. General formula:
- Mild tomato sauce OR pesto
- Grated firm mozzarella cheese OR sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
- Ricotta cheese or goat cheese, for small dollops on top (optional
- Assorted vegetables. Pre-sauté for extra flavor, especially if you’re using onion, garlic and mushrooms. A little italian parsley or basil is nice too; the basil can be added fresh after the pizza is cooked, and the parsley is nice in the sauté. Finely chopped greens are nice. Fresh tomatoes can be added after the pizza is cooked too.
- Meat if you like/eat meat on pizza: Crumbled sausage would work well. Pre-sauté. Ground lamb or chicken would be tasty, cooked with lots of garlic.
- Olive oil, black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grate the zucchini.
3. Sprinkle salt on the zucchini and stir. Let it sit a few minutes.
4. Squeeze the water out. I found the easiest way to do this was to wrap it in cheese cloth or butter muslin and squeeze. You can also put the zucchini on one plate and press another plate on top of it, or put it in a colander and press a bowl into it.
5. Mix with egg and grated cheese.
6. Spread parchment paper on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Spread out your dough batter about 1/2 inch thick into a circle.
7. Put it in the oven and cook until it has browned, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, as it is cooking, sauté any toppings you want cooked. I sautéed garlic, onions, mushrooms and Italian parsley.
9. Take the browned bottom crust out of the oven and admire it.
10. Cover it with your toppings.
10. Bake again until crust edges brown further and cheese on top melts into toppings. Take out of oven and add drizzled olive oil, grated black pepper, and optional fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. Serve hot.
(Clearly whoever wrote this recipe cannot count, lol)
