Lemony Kale and Ricotta "Pizza"

It looks like carbs but surprise!  It's cauliflower!  If anyone can convince me to cave into the cauliflower pizza crust trend, it's Coley Cooks, one of my absolute favorite food bloggers.  Coley posted a similar recipe recently and it left me curious and inspired.  I can't pretend it's the real thing, but it was actually really delicious and obviously much less indulgent.  Coley's recipe called for fresh mozzarella but I wanted to use what I had, so I chose to use dollops of whole milk ricotta instead.  I had Meyer lemons, so that's what I used.  I also found that my crusts took much longer in the oven to get crisp, so I adjusted this recipe for that.  That being said, despite a nice crispness, this is still a fork and knife kind of pie.  Makes 2 Pizzas.  Serves 2-4 (2 in my case).  

Ingredients

Crust: 

1 whole head cauliflower, trimmed and roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons almond meal (I use Bob's Red Mill) 
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (not fresh)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil, for drizzling

Pizzas: 

1 small bunch kale, stems removed and torn into pieces
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Zest from 1 lemon, plus 1/2 lemon for squeezing (I used Meyer, but you don't have to)
Generous pinch red pepper flakes, to taste
Coarse kosher salt, to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced 

Instructions

Crusts 

Preheat a pizza stone or upside down cookie sheet in the oven at 425 degrees.  Set aside two square sheets of parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the cauliflower and pulse until very finely chopped.  I needed to do this in batches - depends on the size of your processor.  You can also buy riced cauliflower at Trader Joe's, but I would still recommend putting it in the bowl for a spin to make it the consistency of fine bread crumbs.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond meal, mozzarella, parmesan, salt and garlic powder. Add the cauliflower and mix until combined.

Place a piece of parchment paper on the back of a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place half of the cauliflower mixture on to the parchment and use your hands to form it into a large disc about 10-12 inches around. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, then slide it on to the pizza stone/upside down pan, parchment and all.  Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown throughout.  (I let it get really golden but it doesn't harden as much as a regular crust would).  Repeat with the remaining cauliflower batter. (Coley says: Pizza crusts can be made several hours ahead).  

Time to Make the Pizzas! 

In a medium bowl, combine the kale, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and season lightly with salt. Distribute the kale between both pizza crusts, then bake on the pizza stone for about 8-10 minutes or until the kale is wilted and crisp in parts. Remove from the oven and top with half of the mozzarella. Place back in the oven for 1 minute more or until the cheese is just barely melted. Repeat with the other pizza. Sprinkle with basil leaves, squeeze some lemon juice over the top, drizzle with olive oil, cut into wedges and serve.