Cauliflower Flatbread w/ Cashew Parsley Pesto

Hannah Sunderani
Jan 17, 2017
5 min read

I'd like to begin by saying that YES; this flatbread is made with cauliflower! I really can't believe how this veg transformed into something so bread-like and tasty! And before you wonder what rock I was living under for the past 5-years, let me tell you that I TRIED! I gave this veg to bread conversion a try on many occasions, but with little success. The issue was that many of the recipes advised cooking the cauliflower ahead of time, and then straining it through a cheesecloth to remove the excess water, and then to bake it at low temperatures for 1-2 hours. Oh the things I would endure for a gluten-free crust! But after much effort and too many hungry friends I decided to switch flower for flour. No more finicky shenanigans. I was destined to stick to the good-old-fashioned wheat crust till the end of time!

The cauliflower flatbread however peaked my interest once again by the vegan expert, Edgarraw. Upon scrolling through Instagram I stubbled upon his beautiful vegan pizza with a dark and crunchy thin crust. A dark and thin crust pizza...that's the key to my heart. But in fact, it wasn't the cauliflower that had me falling for this recipe. It was the almond meal, which was repurposed from making homemade almond milk. Another way to my heart? Repurposing foods that are typically left for compost. Take my Forgotten Fruit Crumble for example. I LOVE the feeling of saving food! Actually, it's one of my favourite things about having a dog....and a husband for that matter! An unfinished meal is never forgotten when you have two of these around. And that "thunk" sound, which was becoming all too common on my Sunday ritual of making homemade almond milk, as meal hit the can, was really starting to bury its way into my guilty conscience. But now, I had a purpose for the scraps! Thank you Edgar! I love how he had introduced this creative way to turn the scraps into something so gourmet. I mean common - you're telling me that I can make the creamiest sommilkier almond milk, AND THEN turn around and make a pizza with the scraps? In what perfect world can you have your milk and pizza-it too?

And so I got to testing the recipe; adapting it and adding my own flare to suit my preferences. The outcome was an easy peasy almond meal and cauliflower flatbread. There is no pre-cooking, straining, or extremely long baking for this recipe. It's SUPER simple and completely vegan. What's more is just how flavourful this flatbread is. It's made by infusing the base with ingredients like nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion power and salt and pepper. The taste is PREMIUM. So delicious that it can be enjoyed on its own with no toppings at all. And trust me - when the crust is this good it's easy to forgo the toppings all-together!

But, if you have more self-control than me then the pesto spread and toppings are worth the wait. This pesto combines parsley with cashew, instead of traditional basil and pine nut; and I LOVE this combination. Especially in winter as parsley is much easier to find and cheaper than basil. Spread this pesto over the flatbread and it's a meal fit for a king. Top it with roasted cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced radish, kale and pomegranate seeds and it's one fit for an emperor. Perhaps if townsmen had courted their Emperor with this flatbread their wishes would have been granted. And Emperors would have been a lot more likeable! And maybe it would have avoided a lot of revolutionary uprisings. Just saying...

But honestly, this flatbread is a true crown, er- I mean, crowd-pleaser. And can be adored warm or cold. It surpasses the skeptic-stamp of approval having been tried by Mitch's work colleagues at his potluck lunch. And if the French can adore this vegan-dish, I like to think it's a cooking success!

Just one thing to note - You'll notice that when preparing the dough it looks and feels similar to traditional. Although it's a little more sticky, especially as it gets thinner it can get stuck to the weight of the rolling pin. So, I encourage you to layer parchment paper overtop of the dough as you roll it out. Here's how I do it:

First flatten the dough onto parchment paper with your hands to create a rectangular shape. Flatten it out to be about 2-3 inches thick.
Layer parchment paper over top of the dough and set your rolling pin on top. Roll overtop of the parchment paper until the dough is 1/4 inch thick. This way you can get it nice and thin crust without it sticking to the rolling pin.
Peel off the paper and you're left with a thin flatbread crust ready to bake!

Now go enjoy this crowd-pleasing flatbread ladies and gents. I'm sure it will be hot commodity in your home too; perhaps with a side of that creamy homemade almond milk. ;)

Cauliflower Flatbread with Cashew Parsley Pesto

Serves: 3-4 | Prep Time: 30 mins| Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the crust:

4 tbsp chia seeds
8 tbsp water
2 cups shredded cauliflower
1/2 cup almond meal*
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

For the Cashew Parsley Pesto:

2 cups parsley
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup oil
the juice of 1 lemon

Additional toppings:

12-15 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed
1/2 cup kale, chopped
1/4 cup radish, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

*Almond meal is the leftover almond pulp after making homemade almond milk. Instead of tossing the pulp, use it as almond meal in this recipe. It can be damp when using; there's no need to dry it out, or pre-bake it. Just try to get out as much of the milk as possible when making nut milk, as I'm sure you will because who wants to miss even an ounce!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Make chia egg by adding water to chia seeds, and let absorb for at least 10 minutes.
Roast cherry tomatoes by painting them with olive oil to cover. Place in a baking pan and cook in the oven for approx. 15-20 minutes, or until bursted.
In a food processor pulse cauliflower until it's shredded and flour-like. Then add to a large mixing bowl with almond meal, buckwheat flour, chia egg, nutritional yeast, garlic cloves, onion powder, salt and pepper. Knead with your hands to create a large doughy ball.
Transfer dough to parchment paper and roll it out until it's 1/4 inch thick.** Transfer dough and lower parchment paper to a baking tray. Bake in the oven for approx. 20 minutes or until golden and crusty. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
While you're waiting for the dough to bake, make your cashew parsley pesto: In a food processor add parsley, cashews, oil and lemon. Process for approx. 1 minute, or until smooth.
Lather flatbread with pesto and top with roasted tomatoes, chopped kale, thinly sliced radish, and pomegranate.

**Tip for the dough: After transferring the dough to parchment paper begin flattening it with your hands. Flatten dough to be about 2-3 inches thick. Then layer a piece of parchment paper over top of the dough and set your rolling pin on top. Roll pin overtop of the parchment paper to flatten the dough until is 1/4 inch thick. (The top layer of parchment paper will stop the dough from sticking to the rolling pin). Peel off the paper and you're left with a thin flatbread crust ready to bake

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