[Photograph: Squire Fox]
Jim Lahey has a thing for charred flavors. His pizzas bake up with crisp leopard spotted crusts giving them a hint of smoke and a lot of crunch. He's employed the same high-heat technique for his Cauliflower Pie from My Pizza, a Béchamel-sauced pizza topped with roasted florets, mozzarella, green olives, chile flakes, and garlic.
While raw cauliflower would be too heavy of a topper, when roasted the moisture is extruded and the florets caramelize in the tastiest of ways. The rest of the toppings have a unexpected harmony; the creamy, nutmeg-spiked Béchamel tones down the salty-spicy-pungent olives, garlic, and chiles, and a bit of mild mozzarella brings it all together in a way that's just kind of perfect.
Cauliflower on pizza? Even if you're not the biggest fan of it, this Cauliflower Pie may very well change you're whole way of thinking about it.
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'My Pizza' to give away.
Get the Recipe!