Pizza (Round 2)

So... lots of people are quick to dismiss the notion of trying something new it seems. I posted a recipe for pizza with a cauliflower base a couple of weeks ago, and several people were quick to jump to the conclusion that it wouldn't taste as good as 'real' pizza...I can honestly say, it was really good, not quite like a standard pizza crust, but good all the same.

Bear with me here...when you order a pizza, it's the toppings that concern you right? You like just cheese, or you're into meat sweats and order every meat topping known to man.. Honestly, have you ever given much thought to the base? It's just a way to hold all the fillings in place when you lift a slice. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever said 'WOW the wheat in my pizza base really made it taste amazing'.

Ever heard the expression 'tastes like chicken'? Well it's usually used to refer to foods that have a bland, hard to describe flavour..Very few people can actually say they don't like chicken, since it's pretty inoffensive. Yep, you guessed it... we're using chicken for the base!

BEST.IDEA.EVER!!!!

For the base:

• 1 cooked chicken breast
• 1 large egg white (reserve yolk for mayonnaise or freeze it... just don't throw it out... they're really useful!) 
• fresh parsley
• sea salt

You'll have noticed my penchant for simple recipes.. this is far easier than making a traditional yeast base, and you'll feel positively virtuous (and less bloated!) afterwards
Start by pulsing the chicken breast until finely shredded (don't overdo it, you don't want chicken puree)

Add in remaining ingredients and pulse until combined.

Spread out chicken base in even layer on a non stick baking tray (I used a 9 inch base from a springform cake tin). If food tends to stick to your baking trays, it's time to replace them but for now just grease the tray lightly with a little coconut oil.

Bake at 160d for 10 minutes until firm. Flip the base over to crisp up the other side (about about 5 minutes should do it) This isn't an exact science... you'll know when it's done because it's golden, firm and holding shape.

Once baked, remove from the oven and be generous with your favourite toppings. I used:

• Organic passata
• leftover chicken and bacon 
• mushrooms
• cherry tomatoes
• spinach 
• St Tola raw milk goats cheese (I may be addicted, it's so good!) 

I'm honestly not sure I can articulate how AMAZING this pizza is. Seriously, you're missing out on nothing by not having a standard base. The chicken base holds up great, and you can lift it like a normal slice. 

This felt like such a treat meal, but really it's pretty damn healthy. Protein shakes are great and all... but why have a shake, when you could have pizza???