Feb202016

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust

So do you remember my sharing with you how to make perfect oven roasted spaghetti squash each and every time? And do you remember my teasing you on facebook and instagram telling you that I was taking it beyond the standard squash dish, casserole or pasta substitute recipe? Well what you didn’t know was I kinda went nuts making that how-to recipe because I ended up with about 14 cups, yes 14, of roasted spaghetti squash. And while I love the stuff, there is only so much a person can eat as a casserole or a pasta dish. So I had to become creative.

By now you all know my absolute FAVORITE food in the ENTIRE world is pizza. Like we’re talking if I had to choose a single food I had to live on for the rest of my life it would be pizza. Now don’t get me wrong it has to be good pizza and yes before you say “even bad pizza is still good pizza because it’s pizza” um, no! NO NO NO! How do I know? Because I had BAD pizza when I was in Arizona. It was worse than wretched if that’s even possible. We’re talking I couldn’t even eat one bite bad and Mr. Fantabulous refused to eat it. That man would eat rocks covered in marinara if he could but he couldn’t even eat that pizza.

HOWEVER this pizza, you’re gonna want to make this every day, forever. PLUS those of you that live or need gluten free you’re in luck! Yes this has flour in it but from doing my research rice flour is naturally gluten free. You don’t need the gluten in this recipe.

When you make this crust the most important bit of advice I can give you is squeeze out as much liquid from the squash as possible. The more dry it is, the more crispier your crust will end up. Just put the cooked squash in a strainer and press and press and press down to get the water out. Or put the squash in a clean dish towel (not terry cloth btw… trust me, I learned the hard way) and squeeze it like you’re squeezing the most sexiest booty out there. Wha? LOL

What you’ll also notice is there is no yeast or leavening in the recipe. There’s no need to. Because the noodles are sturdy you really don’t want to create a ‘doughy’ crust that rises with strands of squash in it. You want the squash to meld together to form the crust. Next, spaghetti squash is pretty bland so by adding in some basic seasoning you can really amp up the flavoring. Remember this is just the crust. However you top it, those flavors will infuse into the crust.

Once you mix it all up you’ll want to spread it out on lightly sprayed parchment paper. I would advise against putting it directly on a baking sheet only because one, I haven’t tested it, and two it may stick. With the parchment I know it doesn’t. And since this isn’t a dough crust you don’t roll it out or stretch it. Instead you spread it out and then shape it with damps hands (hahaha I first typed damn hands). Fine use your damn hands too! And as you can see when you spread it out, you want to give a lip all the way around the edges. This gives it that ‘puffed’ crust appeal.

For me my crust takes between 20-30 minutes to get to that desired crust look. I like mine golden brown around the edges. When you pull it out it should be firm to the touch. AND you can pick up the side/crust and look at the base crust. If it’s gorgeous golden brown and ‘stiff’ then you’re good to go! The only reason why it wouldn’t brown up is if you didn’t squeeze most of the liquid out. Did I mention that this is super important???

Once it’s cooked you can top however you want with whatever you want. Now if you’re eating this type of crust I’m “assuming” you are going more for a healthier pizza. HOWEVER you don’t have to! For me my favorite topped pizzas are:

– pizza sauce, variety of cheese and basil
– bbq shredded chicken, cheddar, caramelized onions and crispy bacon – yes I said bacon. I never said you had to keep it healthy but remember everything in moderation!
– roasted veggies, drizzle of olive oil, crumbled feta and pumpkin seeds
– um… anything cause it’s pizza, duh! LOL

Now stay tuned for future recipes featuring this crust in various pizza recipes! So for now if you gave up carbs for Lent go make this and eat your pizza!