Cauliflower Crust Pizza with White Sauce

I told you I'd be back soon. And with a killer pizza recipe to boot. So get excited, because this dish is tried and true. Actually, I've made it so many times, I have no idea how it hasn't been on the blog yet. But this is hands down my favorite way to eat starch-less pizza and has become a real staple at our house.

{riced}

{squeezed out}

{pre-baked crust}

Ingredients:
for the crust-
1/2 large head of cauliflower (if your cauli. is on the smaller side, use 3/4)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
2-3 ounces of cheese, shredded (I usually do a mix of mozzarella and parmesan)
salt and pepper, a few pinches of dried oregano and basil
for the white sauce-
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy (or light) cream
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (depends on how garlicky you like your pizza-this is always an argument at our house)
salt and pepper
top it off-
3-4 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly or shredded (I use low-moisture cheese, because nobody likes soggy pizza)
1 ounce of parmesan, grated from the block
your choice of toppings: a handful of olives, mushrooms, sliced onions, fresh tomatoes, etc. the sky is the limit, really!

Directions:
for the crust-
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. To "rice" the cauliflower, either grate it with a box grater or pulse it in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. Put the riced cauliflower in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave uncovered until softened, about 6-8 minutes, stirring at least once. Cool slightly.
2. Pour the cauliflower onto a kitchen towel and wring out the excess water from the cauliflower (I wear latex gloves to do this because the cauliflower is hot!). Put the wrung-out cauliflower back into a large bowl and add in the eggs, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Stir until combined. Spread out the "dough" for the crust onto your lined baking sheet. Try and make it as thin as possible without any holes poking through.
3. Bake about 30 minutes, or until golden/light brown. The darker it gets, the crispier your pizza's crust will be-but keep in mind that you'll be putting it under the broiler later, so you don't want it to turn out burned when you're melting the cheese. (Sometimes I'll flip the crust over and bake it for another 5 minutes, just to make sure that it's thoroughly cooked.) Let cool for 10-15 minutes before you load it up with toppings.
for the white sauce-
4. While the crust bakes, you can prepare your sauce and get your toppings ready. Whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Keep it in the fridge until you're ready to put your pizza together.
assemble it-
5. Preheat the broiler. Once your crust is golden and has cooled a bit, spread your white sauce evenly over the top, going almost to the edge. Spread the mozzarella across the sauce, then fill in the gaps with your parmesan. Lay out your choice of toppings across the cheese. (And sprinkle some dried oregano on top, if you want that pizzeria feel.) Broil 5-6 minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden in spots. Be careful to watch your pizza closely, because it'll burn quickly under the broiler. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving. If you'd like, you can add some chopped fresh basil and oregano before serving as well.

*And for a recipe for tomato sauce and a variation on the white sauce, check out my first post on starch free pizza here.

Pork Chops with Mozzarella and Homemade Tomato Sauce

It's like pizza on your pork chops! This dish makes an excellent weeknight dinner because it's simple to put together and you can leave it alone to cook. And it's pretty quick, especially if you have the tomato sauce made ahead of time. Roi said that he thought it tasted even better as leftovers, which he doesn't say about anything really, so you know that these have to be good.

This is another recipe adapted from Everyday Food and you can find the original recipe right here.  I decided to pan-cook my pork so that I could get it really tender, so my cheese didn't brown like in the original recipe that was done under the broiler. If you go with the broiler method instead, let me know how it turns out! My tomato sauce for this recipe is taken directly from my Starch Free Pizza post and is just re-posted here for your convenience. It's my go-to, on-the-fly tomato sauce.

{getting things ready}

{browning the meat and making the sauce}

Pork Chops with Mozzerella and Tomato Sauce
serves 4-6 (depending on how much you want to make)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lb. pork chops/pork cutlets
1/2-3/4 cup tomato sauce (see recipe below for making your own)
6-8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into slices

1.) Trim the pork chops and season with salt and pepper. Add a few lugs of olive oil to a large skillet and heat on the stove over medium-high heat until the olive oil is fragrant.
2.) Add the pork chops to the pan and cook on first side until browned, 2-3 minutes. Then flip them over and brown the other side.
3.) Once both sides of the pork are browned, turned the heat down to medium low, cover the skillet and let simmer for 25-30 minutes. Keep an eye on the skillet, just to make sure the pork chops don't burn. If bottom starts to caramelize, just de-glaze the pan by adding in a little white wine or sherry. And don't skimp out on this part, this is what makes the pork really tender.
4.) Still in the pan, cover the pork chops in tomato sauce then add a slice or two of mozzerella to each one. Re-cover the pan and let cook until mozzerella is melted, about 5 minutes.
5.) Serve with a lettuce salad and add extra tomato sauce on top, if you're like me and you like it extra saucy.

Simple Tomato Sauce*
makes 1/2-3/4 cup
2-3 tablespoons butter
4-6 medium tomatoes, chopped (depends on how much sauce you want!)
a small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt & pepper
basil, oregano (to your liking)

1.) Add butter and onion to a saucepan and saute over medium heat until onion is tender and starting to turn golden in color.
2.) Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic.
3.) Add white wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high.
4.) Once the sauce starts boiling, I usually turn the heat back down to medium and let the sauce lightly boil for awhile, so that most of the moisture from the tomatoes can evaporate.
5.) Once the sauce begins to thicken (after 10-15 minutes), add the seasoning to taste. Turn the heat down very low and let the sauce thicken.

**I never really measure anything when I make this sauce, I kind of just throw in what I have available, go on what feels right, and keep tasting it as I go along. It always turns out delicious; this sauce is almost impossible to mess up.