Cauliflower Calzone with Spinach, Mushrooms and Feta
Gosh, hasn’t the humble cauliflower really improved its profile
Once thought as only being worthy of smothering in cheesy white sauce, it is now being used in so many wonderful and interesting ways, like pizza, as a replacement for rice or mash, cauliflower bread, cauliflower ‘steaks‘, as a pie or lasagne topping in place of bechamel sauce and now as a calzone crust…
could that delicious looking calzone really be made from cauliflower???
And despite this push coming from certain diets (like low carb or paleo) which I do not promote, since cauliflower is a member of the brassica or cruciferous family of vegetables, well known for being a concentrated source of important nutrients as well as protecting against cancer, and the fact that 96% of Australians don’t eat enough vegetables, I am all for this sudden interest in cauliflower. So much so, I thought I would have a go at making ‘calzone’ using cauliflower as the crust (since I have already made cauliflower pizza, which was deelicious) – and it worked!
The crust is so easy and much simpler than using the usual pizza dough crust
Plus the calzones are lighter and tastier…
Feel free to vary using your own combination of fillings
But this is definitely one to try and see if the kids notice that their ‘pizza dough’ is actually made out of vegetables!
check out that melted feta…YUM!
- Calzone Crust:
- ½ medium (375g) cauliflower
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
- 20 grams fresh grated parmesan cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Filling:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4-6 medium Swiss brown mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic
- large handful baby spinach leaves
- 30 - 40 grams feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
- pepper
- Heat oven to 170 degrees and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper
- Roughly chop the cauliflower, then place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a rice-like texture is created. You may want to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your food processor.
- Add egg, psyllium husks, parmesan cheese and salt and process again until well combined.
- Using a ½ cup scoop, scoop out mixture and place on prepared tray with plenty of room between
- Press each mound into a circle approx 15 cm in diameter.
- Note, if you don't have a large baking tray, then use 2 smaller trays
- Cook for 20 minutes, until they start to brown. Meanwhile prepare your filling.
- Heat a frypan over medium heat. When hot add the oil, mushrooms and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes until softened and golden brown.
- Turn off heat, add spinach to pan and mix through. It will wilt in the remaining heat of the pan.
- Remove mixture from pan and stir through feta cheese, fresh basil and pepper.
- When the calzone 'crusts' are cooked, place mixture on half of the base, then fold over.
- Return to oven for a further 5 minutes, until feta has melted. Or set aside and bake later, but you may need to cook them for 10 minutes so they heat through.
- Any leftovers can be reheated in the microwave for 25 seconds.
place 1/2 cup of mix on tray
flatten mix and bake in oven for 20 mins until lightly browned
meanwhile, make the filling
flip cooked bases over, top with filling, fold over and return to oven
viola, done!
