Roasted Beet & Fennel Pesto Pizza! GF, SCD, BED & Paleo w/ Vegan opt'n!

What up Happy Tummiesss?!!

How was everyone's weekend? Did you watch the World Cup finals? I watched it with my friends in Harlem. What a fun day.

A double rainbow on the way to the airport in Wisconsin.

So yep, I'm back from Wisconsin, and boy do I miss my fam. It was so great to be with them, especially my little niece, Baby A. She turns one on Thursday. Such. A. Cutie. :D My mom loves being a gma:)

It is definitely a different kind of summer here in NYC. It is seriously muggy and humid here on the East Coast, but that was NOT the case in Wisconsin! It was so cold in the Northwoods that on a couple days, that I had to wear a ski suit when we went boating!! And at the lake home, we have all our old clothes up there -- as the "cottage wardrobe." So let's just say I looked pretty sweet in my mom's 80's ski outfit! haha

Yep, it was a high of 63 degrees some days, so lets just say it was f-f-f-freezing on the water! Quite the change from NYC :D

One night in Wisconsin, I decided to make one of my favorite meals: a Cauliflower Flatbread Pizza!

Flatbreads are a standby for me. They're so delicious, filling, easy to make, and seriously good eats!

And you did read that right: it's made out of Cauliflower! Cauliflower and almond flour to be exact:D

This particular flatbread was a Roasted Beet and Fennel Pesto Flatbread! And it's Gluten and Grain Free, Specific Carb Diet and Body Ecology Diet Friendly, Paleo, and has a Vegan option!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)

1/3 cup almond flour
2 egg whites (Vegan option: 1 flax/chia egg)
1 cup cauliflower florets (riced in a food processor)
3 pinches salt

1 beet, cut into 1/4 inch rounds (BED sub red pepper)
1 bulb of fennel, half cut into wedges, and half shaved on the mandolin

Pesto Sauce:
1 cup, packed fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
juice 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
3/4 cup green peas, microwaved for 2 minutes
1-2 Tbsp EVOO

Garnish:
fresh basil, chopped
sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Rice your cauliflower in the food processor. Then, place your riced cauliflower in either paper towels, cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen towel, and wring out all the excess liquid. (This is a really important step!)

Combine the riced cauliflower with the egg, almond flour and salt in a medium sized bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (NOT wax paper!) Place your "dough" in the center of the parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top, and "smoosh" out the dough to about an 8 inch circle. Leave the top paper on, and bake as a "parchment sandwich" for about 30-35 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.

Next, scrub and dry your beet, and slice it into 1/4 inch rounds. Place them in a single layer on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil. Set aside.

Take your fennel bulb and remove the two outer layers. With half, cut into wedges, keeping the button intact, so the wedges stay together. Place these wedges in a single layer on the baking sheet with the beets. Spritz with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, take the fennel off the baking sheet and set aside. Flip the beets, and return the baking sheet to the oven for another 10 minutes.

With the remaining 1/2 fennel bulb, carefully shave it on the mandolin into paper-thin slices. These will be scattered raw on the pizza.

Meanwhile, make your pesto by combining all the pesto ingredients in the food processor and blitz until smooth. You'll need to scrape the sides several times.

To assemble, place a thin layer of the pesto sauce on the crust. Top with slices of the beets, the roasted fennel, and raw fennel, and garnish with basil and sunflower seeds.

Oh my goodness this pizza was SO GOOD! Holy cow, what a treat. For those of you who are skeptical of a crust made out of cauliflower, I assure you, you do NOT taste the cauliflower at all. No kidding. I passed it around the table for my family to try, and they all couldn't believe that there was cauliflower in it. Even my dad --- and that's saying something!

The textures were so great. The crust was chewy and bready, and a little crispy/crunchy on the edges. The creamy pesto, chewy beets and roasted fennel went perfectly with the crunchy sunflower seeds and raw fennel.

And the flavors were fabulous! The pesto was so bright and fresh, and the beets had a wonderful earthy sweetness to them that paired perfectly with the sweet and licorice-y fennel. There's something magical about fennel when you roast it in the oven -- its inherent sweetness comes out and caramelizes. SO good! And the sunflower seeds gave a nice nutty and salty *pop* to it.

Finally, it was a stunning dish with the bright green and deep purple. Just beautiful.

Alright, I'm off to watch the Bachelorette! More great recipes coming later this week! Be sure to check back!