Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Crust Pizza

So this week was an experiment for me on our quest to make a new meal for a Monday post.  We've tried cauliflower crust pizzas in the past and really haven't had any luck with flavor or texture.  We love the idea of pizza that we can eat without any guilt so we wanted to give it another try.  

So this time I thought it would be fun and tasty to add sweet potato to the cauliflower.  This would give it a bit of that sweet flavor that you get from regular dough when you add honey or sugar.  I was also hoping it would help crisp up the crust a bit more.  

If you can't tell by words like "experiment" and "hoping" this didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped.  Although tasty it didn't quite have the texture that I was hoping.  The outside got crispy but the interior stayed a little on the soft side.  It was definitely a fork kind of pizza.  

Feel free to make some suggestions if there are any bakers out there that know a way to add more of crunch and firmer texture.   I'm thinking maybe a little more tapioca starch and a higher heat when I bake it next time.  

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped and processed in a food processor
• 1 medium sweet potato, baked and mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Toppings

• 1/2 cup prepared pesto
• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• Tomato, diced or sliced
• 1 cup cheese of your choice, we used a gouda goat cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (I originally started baking at 350 and it was taking forever, so I upped it to 400 mid-bake).
2. Chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces and place in a food processor.  You will likely need to do this in 2-3 batches to get smaller grind on the cauliflower.  
3. Place processed cauliflower on a kitchen towel and ring out as much liquid as possible.  
4. You will need to mix all the ingredients together, I used a stand mixer, you could re-add them to the food processor, or do it by hand in a mixing bowl, your choice.  
5. Transfer your ingredients to parchment lined baking sheet and spread into whatever shape pizza you want.  The recipe will likely give you two medium pizzas worth of crust.  
6. Bake at 400 degrees for roughly 30 minutes until the edges start to turn golden brown. 
7. In a skillet cook your shrimp and garlic prior to putting on top of the pizza.  
8. Remove from the oven, add your toppings, and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Once I master this crust I will post the recipe cards that you guys can download.  Until then I would appreciate any feedback on how I could improve this recipe and process.  

Make it a Great Monday!