Beet & Mushroom Cauli-Flatbread! GF, SCD & Paleo w/ Vegan Option

Hey guys!

So I’m in Wisconsin! Yay!! Don’t get me wrong, I love NYC, but every now and then it’s good to just get away, see nature, and spend time with family. So bring on the lake!

Wisconsin is so amazing. I love being on the lake and just having the stress melt away. Up here, life is slow. The day revolves around when you’re going out on the boat, what beers to bring in the boat cooler, and which supper club to go to for dinner. The local Friday Night Fish Fry is an institution, and being a Packers fan is the religion around here. Cheeseheads for the world!

I’ve really missed cooking. Cooking in the city is pretty difficult. Food is SO expensive. ($6.00 for a red pepper!!) That, and my days are so busy that it’s hard to make time to cook/blog. So as a result, I’ve been only cooking one special “blog meal” per week. But up here, I can really let loose "culinarily" and have fun!! SO let the culinary adventure begin!

Last night I made an AMAZING meal! We’re talking a 10/10! Delicious, filling, healthy, and beautiful to boot. What was it?

Beet, Mushroom and Basil Cauli-Flatbread!

Talk about a fabulous treat! And it’s gluten/grain free, Specific Carb Diet friendly, paleo, and has a vegan option!

Here’s what you need: (serves 1)

Crust:
¼ cup almond flour
1 cup cauliflower
2 egg whites (Vegan option: 2 flax/chia eggs)
salt and pepper

1 beet, scrubbed and diced
2 Tbsp onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

4 mushrooms, sliced
5 sugar snap peas, sliced into bite-sized pieces
basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub and dry your beet. Then, cut it into ½ inch cubes. Place them on a tin foil-lined, olive oil-sprayed baking sheet in an even layer. Spritz with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

While that’s baking, prepare your crust. Steam or microwave your cauliflower. Then, place the florets into the food processor and process until it resembles rice. Place your riced cauliflower in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and wring out as much water as you can. This step is really important!! Mix your dried cauliflower rice with your egg of choice, almond flour, salt and pepper. Set aside. Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper and place one on a baking sheet. Put the dough in the center of the sheet. Place the other sheet on top and “smoosh” out the dough to form a circle. Don’t make it too thin, but spread until you get a nice sized crust. Bake crust for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. This is what the underside of the crust looks like when it’s finished: see how golden and crispy it is?!

Meanwhile, sauté your mushrooms and sugar snap peas in 1 tsp of olive oil, salt and pepper for just a minute: until the mushrooms brown and the peas become a vibrant green. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same pan, add another tsp EVOO and sauté your onions and garlic with salt and pepper. Allow the onions to brown a bit, and then transfer them to the food processor.

When your beets come out of the oven, place them in the food processor with the onions and garlic. Add some salt and pepper, and blend until creamy.

To assemble: Place your crust on your plate.

Top with the beet mixture.

Top with your mushrooms and sugar snap peas.

Garnish with fresh basil and DIG IN!

I cannot even begin to describe how delicious this flatbread was! First, the crust was chewy and a little crispy. You could not taste the cauliflower AT ALL! It had a subtle nuttiness to it from the almond flour.

And the entire thing was just bursting with flavor. There was an earthy sweetness to the dish. The beets had an underlying sweetness that was complimented by the sweet sugar snap peas. The mushrooms really highlighted the earthiness of the beets. And the basil gave the dish a wonderful freshness that tied it all together!

Finally, it was a truly beautiful dish. The white mushrooms and green peas just popped off of the deep crimson beets. It looked like a work of art. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. :)

And one last thing! I found an AWESOME new product! It’s called Reallygoods! It’s a regional organic, vegan/glutenfree/raw snack bar/“cookie.” - It's literally called a "raw fruit and nut thing" haha See? 

I enjoyed them on the boat for lunch yesterday.

Check out the ingredients: macadamia nuts, pecans, raisins, coconut….SO INCREDIBLE! And I loved them because they didn’t have any dates in them like Larabars. (Dates don’t really agree with my stomach. I think the sugar is too concentrated in them.) So yeah, keep an eye out for them!

They were super chewy and just the right amount of sweetness! I mean, check out that texture!

More fun to come in the kitchen tonight! See ya soon!

Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!