RECIPE: Zucchini-Crusted Pizza

Tis the season for zucchini…fa la la la la la la la! So, I am reposting one of my favorite foods – Zucchini Crusted Pizza.

Zucchini Crusted Pizza

What’s really nice is that I had all the ingredients in house, already.  Even more special than that?  Almost all of the ingredients came from my backyard garden.

I raised the zucchini, garlic, fox cherry and roma tomatoes , onions, basil and oregano.  I give Trader Joe’s the nod for the black bean dip (which I mixed with my homemade tomato paste) and the goat cheese.

So, here’s the recipe!

Zucchini Pizza Crust
8 cups fresh shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup almond flour
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp basil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt

Pizza Sauce & Toppings
Homemade or organic tomato paste
Carmelized onions
Goat cheese
Thinly sliced, fresh organic tomatoes
Grated pecorino romano

Optional toppings:
Roasted peppers or roasted pepper spread
Black Bean dip
Mushrooms

Directions
Preheat oven to 550F.  If you have a pizza stone, put it in to pre-heat it.  I just use a stoneware deep dish pizza pan.

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 15 minutes. If frozen, thaw out and put into a large strainer.  Squeeze the excess moisture out of the squash by wrapping it up in a clean tea towel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing it out, discarding the water.

Once all of the excess moisture has been wrung out and discarded, place the shredded zucchini into the bowl and add the cheddar cheese, flour, garlic, oregano, basil, eggs, and salt.  Mix with your hands,

Place the zucchini mixture and using your fingers, spread the mixture to fill the pan or stone pushing it up the edges (if using a pizza pan) so that it forms a edge crust.

Bake the pizza shell itself until it starts to brown.  NOTE:  if your zucchini was too moist, just let the shell cook a bit longer to ensure it’s done, all the way through.

Pull the crust out of the oven and top with sauce, cheese, onions and any other ingredients you want, put it back in the oven and bake 10 to 15 more minutes – until the cheese melts and the sauces heat through.

All natural Zucchini Crusted Pizza

FYI this is good hot or cold – in case you lose power!  Bon appetit!