Cauliflower Crust Stromboli

This is me showing you that cauliflower crust is dope.
Dope as in awesome and nasty as in “Yah brah thats sik!”
Shaka sign dope and awesome and sik. Got it?
Because there’s really no end to what you (and I) can do with cauli crust. Like really.
Pizza, calzone, pizzettes, hot pockets, garlic breadsticks and today Stromboli.
Now, do you know what Stromboli is?
It’s a small island off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy (I've just wikipedied it.)
And it’s also a fantastic appetizer.
I was first introduced to it a couple of years ago at Scarpetta in Chelsea.
It’s part of their bread basket (I still ate bread back then, say what???) and I soon became obsessed with Stromboli. SO yummy.
In a nutshell, Stromboli is basically a pizza roll.
You roll pizza dough out into a rectangle, cover with sauce, top with meat and cheese, roll up, cut in some slats, bake and serve.
It’s just a different way to eat pizza.
It’s also different from a calzone. A calzone is just a pizza folded in half; a Stromboli it’s a rectangular pizza rolled.
People go nuts over Stromboli because it’s something they don’t see everyday.

When you make cauliflower crust pizza you become 100 times cooler because you served it instead of regular pizza.
If you make cauliflower crust Stromboli, then you become like 1000 times cooler.
Because Stromboli is 10 times cooler than pizza, and cauliflower crust is 100 times cooler than regular wheat dough. Hence, 10 x 100 = 1000. I’m good at math.
Shall we make some? Mmmmmmkay...
Start out by making our fail proof cauliflower crust pizza dough and spread into a rectangle on a lined baking sheet.

After baking it for the standard 10 minutes, spread tomato sauce over most of the dough, leaving a small border on one side.


Grate some mozzarella please! And sprinkle half over top of the sauce.

Now fish around your fridge for some meat. I had only ham, but pepperoni or salami would be a great add-on. Lay those slices out over the cheese.

Sprinkle the last of the cheese over top of the meat and that’s the filling! Wham bam slam!

Now carefully roll that baby up! Cut slats in the top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano.

Bake this bad boy 12 minutes. Wait a few minutes, then slice and serve.
It’s about at this time people start worshipping the ground you walk on because this is beyond good.
“Dope stuff brotha!”

Cauliflower Crust Stromboli                                                                                   Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Makes 1 Stromboli, enough for 4 as an appetizer
Cauliflower crust

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr shredded mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Filling

3 tablespoons tomato sauce (such as marinara)
½ cup mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar)
Ham, pepperoni, salami or any other meat of your choice (skip this if you’re vegetarian)
Grated Parmesan cheese and dried oregano to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally grease it with olive oil. Set aside.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).
Transfer cauliflower rice (3 cups) to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.
Place the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy dough, impossible to roll into a stromboli.
Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well.
Spread cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and form into a large rectangle.
Place in the oven and bake for exactly 10 minutes (no more, no less, 10 minutes).
Remove from the oven and spread tomato sauce over most of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border on one side.
Spread half of the mozzarella, then the meat (I used ham), then the remaining cheese.
With a large spatula lift the longer sides of the crust and roll into stromboli shape (you may also use the parchment paper to help you do this!)
Flip them seam down and tuck/fold the shorter side to close the stromboli.
Cut slats in the top, and sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese and oregano.
Return to the oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes.
Wait a few minutes before you slice and serve.
And beware of all that raging ooey gooey cheese. Right out of the oven it’s thermonuclear hot. So, watch yourself.
Serve with extra sauce if you feel so inclined.

Nutrition facts

The whole stromboli yields 526 calories, 31 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbs and 41 grams of protein.