Carrot and cauliflower pizza with Swedish-ish pizza salad

Pizza, pizza, glorious pizza! Such a yummy meal, but oh so bad for you. I try hard not to order pizza take aways or make proper ones at home. I can make a nice pizza and I have tried all sorts of bread bases. I think my favourite one so far is a thin naan base that can be baked and frozen, then topped and finished off when you fancy a treat.

However, all that beautiful bread is too easy to eat too much of and that's the bad part. No, I'm not gluten intolerant or even sensitive to wheat. I'm simply greedy and I love bread. That's a combo that means eating too much. To deal with that issue I tend to reduce the occasions and thoroughly enjoy them when they finally happen. Meanwhile, I make non-bread based pizza.

There are loads of different recipes for vegetable bases and all of them (at least the ones I have seen) tells you to cook the vegetable rice first. That's exactly why I didn't do that this time, to see it if was necessary. Far too often I do something simply because I'm told. Every so often the rebel comes out and says NO. This was such a time. Turns out that pre-cooking the rice isn't necessary. There you are, a time saving tip.

My favourite pizza base features parsnip and celeriac, but this time I used cauliflower and carrot, because that's what I had lingering in the fridge drawer. For serving, I like the kind of salad you get at a pizza restaurant in Sweden. It is basically pickled cabbage, made with white cabbage. I prefer savoy cabbage though, as it is frilly and pretty and takes less time to pickle.

This is what I used for my pizza base:

1 small head of cauliflower, in small florets

1 large carrot, in chunks

1 egg

salt & pepper

oregano

basil

Topping:

tomato puree

ketchup

Worcestershire sauce

paprika

oregano

basil

ham, chopped

cooked chicken, sliced

cheddar cheese, grated

Pickled cabbage:

1/3 medium head savoy cabbage, finely shredded

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp water

1/2 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

oregano

1. Add cauliflower and carrot to a food processor and blitz into rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the vegetables instead.

2. Place the rice in a bowl and add an egg along with seasoning. Mix well and make sure the egg is thoroughly distributed, as this is what holds the base together.

Some recipes says to add cheese in the base and this will help to bind it, but I'm not a fan of cheesy pizzas and prefer a sprinkle on top rather than have it in the base as well. If you are a cheese lover, go for it!

3. Flatten the mixture onto a baking tray with greaseproof paper. You need it to be compact and no thicker than 1 cm. 

To get the edges neat, I fold the greaseproof paper and push down on it. This is much easier if you make a rectangular pizza.

4. Bake at 200 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, possibly 25, until the base feels dry and has started to turn a little golden. Mind the edges. They burn easily.

5. While the base is baking, prepare your choice of toppings.

6. Cover your pizza with the toppings.

7. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

8. Serve and enjoy.

To make the pickled cabbage salad, mix the marinade in a large box or bag and add the shredded cabbage. Shake well to make sure the cabbage is fully coated and leave in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If you use white cabbage, you need to leave for a good few hours or the salad will be rock hard.