Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese
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Don’t worry people, I’m going to cauliflower crust rehab in a day or so.
They say the first step in solving a problem is to admit that you have a problem.
So, here it goes: “Hello, my name is Mike and I’m a cauliflower crust addict”
“Hello Mike”
“Over a year ago I’ve first tried cauliflower crust and since then I’ve been making it at least twice a week. It started out with pizza, then it was calzone, hot pockets, breadsticks and stromboli. I can’t seem to stop. I need help!”
Seriously though, when I made the cauli crust stromboli (about a month ago), I thought that was the end of my experiments with cauliflower crust.
Apparently not.
But before we move on, let me say this: If you’re sick and tired of this cauli crust thing, feel free to leave. It’s okay, we can still be friends (or at least I'll pretend to be your friend...)
If, instead, you’re willing to cope with my cauliflower madness in all its psychotic glory, then I can show you what I believe is one of my biggest achievement with cauliflower crust.
I made cauliflower crust grilled cheese! BOOM!
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At its base, grilled cheese is one of the most simple things ever. Bread, butter and cheese.
The basic steps are: butter the bread, place the slice into a heated skillet, sprinkle the cheese, top with another bread slice and cook until golden brown on both sides and cheese is oozing out.
In order to forge a healthier grilled cheese, we need to make some uh-mazing cauliflower crust slices of bread. A bit of work, but totally worth it.
It starts with the usual procedure.
Ricing the cauliflower, cooking it and squeezing out as much moisture as possible (I know, this part sucks!).
Now comes the “fun” part, aka making the cauliflower crust slices of bread (and I totally agree with you, this a very lame definition of fun!)
I like my bread to be squared, which is what I went for, but feel free to use you imagination. Rectangles, rounds, oval....endless possibilities.
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Let them cool and then you’re pretty much ready to make your grilled cheese.
I have a confession to make, I got a lil carried away with the cheese.
Really, you don’t need to go overboard like I did; sometimes less is more.
But if you do get carried away, don’t worry, you’re eating two full servings of cauliflower with each grilled cheese. That alone justifies using extra cheese.
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Ingredients
Makes 2 grilled cheese sandwiches
Cauliflower crust “bread” slices
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr shredded mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Grilled cheese
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
⅓ cup / 3 oz / 85 gr sharp cheddar cheese, grated/shredded, at room temperature
Directions
Cauliflower crust “bread” slices
Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally grease it with olive oil. Set aside.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).
Transfer cauliflower rice (about 3 cups) to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.
Place the cauliflower rice in a dishcloth (or tea towel) and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy dough, impossible to use as slices of bread.
Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, salt, pepper and mix well.
Spread cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and shape into 4 squares.
Place in the oven and bake for about 16 minutes until golden.
Remove and let cool 10 minutes before peeling them off the parchment paper (be careful not to break them!)
Assemble cauliflower crust grilled cheese
Heat a pan over medium heat.
Butter one side of each slice of cauliflower crust bread (preferably the top part).
Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, sprinkle with the cheese and top with the remaining slice of cauliflower crust bread, buttered side up.
Turn the heat down a notch and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Gently flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Nutrition facts
One grilled cheese yields 374 calories, 29 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs and 23 grams of protein.
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