Pizza Today -March 2023 - 18

Me, You & The Veggies Too
ON DECK CHRIS DECKER
If you are anything like me, you
love pizza and tacos! This month I am
going to give you a little mash up. A
while ago there was a question asked
on one of the many pizza groups,
" What is an under-utilized pizza
topping? " My answer: caulifl ower. I
absolutely love it roasted and added
to a pizza. It is also great added to
mac and cheese. The same principles
apply: melted cheese and caulifl ower
go together well. It is magic. For this
recipe I roast and treat the caulifl ower
like pork carnitas. The fl avors are
great, and for those of you that are
looking to skip meat once in a while
or a great vegetable option for your
pizza, give this a try. There is some
prep involved with this one, though.
The pickled onions and the pickled
peppers take a day or so to set up. But
it is defi nitely worth the time.
This recipe will make three to four
10-12-inch pizzas. Enjoy!
12-16 oz whole milk mozzarella
*For the caulifl ower:
1 head of caulifl ower
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch kosher salt
*For the pineapple pickled peppers:
10-12
serrano peppers, thinly cut
on a bias
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 garlic cloves
*For the citrus pickled onion:
1 whole red onion sliced thin
1 -2 lemons
*Post bake toppings
Fresh Cilantro
Chipotle sauce (store bought is
fi ne)
To roast the caulifl ower, cut the
caulifl ower into fl orets and add
them to a mixing bowl. Add the oil,
cumin, chile powder, paprika and
salt. Toss to incorporate all the spices
into the caulifl ower. Add the spiced
caulifl ower to a sheet pan and roast
at 500-550 F for 10-15 minutes,
tossing and turning every couple of
minutes to get an even cook and char
marks. When the caulifl ower is tender
and thoroughly roasted, take out of
oven and let cool. Once cooled, wrap
and refrigerate.
To pickle the onions, put your thinly
sliced onions into a bowl and squeeze
the lemon over the onion. Once all
the juice is covering the onions, toss
and make sure the lemon juice is
hitting all the onion. For the fi rst hour
or so, keep turning the onions and
mixing them in the lemon juice. Cover
and refrigerate.
To pickle the peppers, put the sliced
peppers in a bowl. Add the vinegar,
pineapple juice, salt and sugar to a
sauté pan and boil, stirring carefully
until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Pour solution over the cut peppers,
cool and wrap.
Stretch your dough to desired size
and add to a fl oured pizza peel. Top
with 4 ounces of mozzarella, then arrange
the roasted caulifl ower around
the pizza. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes
at 550 F, turning when needed
to ensure proper bake. When fi nished
baking, remove pizza from oven and
let cool on a rack for a minute or two.
Cut pizza into six slices and, using a
spoon, drizzle chipotle sauce around
pizza. Spread pickled peppers, pickled
onion and fresh cilantro leaves over
pizza and serve.
CHRIS DECKER is managing partner at Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, NV. Instagram: @everythingbutanchovies
18 / PIZZATODAY.COM / MARCH 2023

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Pizza Today -March 2023

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