WHAT: Absolutely Gluten Free Cauliflower Crust Pizza
STATS: Varies slightly by flavor. Each package (three mini pizzas) contains 170 calories and 5 to 6 fat, 21 to 26 carbohydrate, 4 fiber and 6 to 12 protein grams. For more information on nutrition and availability, visit absolutelygf.com.
THE SKINNY: Peppers. Onions. Mushrooms. Tomatoes. Olives. They're vegetables that belong with pizza. But cauliflower?
We can appreciate the idea (if not always the taste/texture/aroma) of mashed cauliflower as low-carbohydrate substitute for mashed potatoes. But formed into a gluten-free pizza dough?
Absolutely Gluten Free offers two kinds of its frozen flour-free Cauliflower Crust Pizzas: one made with mozzarella cheese and another with "non-dairy mozzarella-style topping" (neither are vegan, as they contain egg whites). We were sent samples of each.
Before baking the mozzarella version the full 12 to 14 minutes recommended, one of the three thin mini pizzas began to burn (microwaving is not an option). If there's anything worse than the smell of cauliflower, it's the smell of singed cauliflower. I removed them to find the other two were still rather cold, and much of the cheese, which didn't quite adhere to the thin amount of tomato sauce, had fallen off, littering the floor of the toaster oven.
I was turned off at that point, and the inconsistently cooked cauli-pizzas' curious taste didn't cause a turnaround.
Slim Pickings is a weekly review of light foods. Email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
ActiveStyle on 02/23/2015