sweet potato pizza crust

I'll be honest, I've been trying to come up with a healthier pizza crust for a long time. I've done the pre-made ones, I've done gluten free, dairy free, with yeast, no yeast you name it. While I love cauliflower, it is so much work to make it a good quality crust, its just not worth the effort in my book. If you didn't know by now, my favorite sweet potato is the ideal base. It's sturdy enough to hold your toppings, and flexible enough to take on the flavors of other things. I personally think BBQ goes really well with this crust, but any sauce will do.

Always, always, preheat your oven - 375 for this recipe. I start by baking my sweet potato in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes. Let it cool and then peel. I then throw it into the food processor with the oats, egg and 1/3 cup of flour. This is where you'll want to make note of the texture of the dough. I start adding more flour one to two tablespoons at a time - it'll depend on how wet the mixture is with how much you'll need to add. You'll want it to ball up, and not be too sticky. Add in your seasonings and mix thoroughly. Form the dough into a round and put it on a greased baking sheet. The tip to help it get flat enough (since you cant really roll this with a rolling pin) is to take a spatula and dunk it into some flour. Use it to flatten and smooth out your edges until you have two small pizza crusts. I aim for around 1/4 inch thick for the dough. Put into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and then flip. This is where you can get creative and top with whatever you want. This week I did a little barbecue sauce and some sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and red peppers. Lastly, I topped it with some Daiya provolone dairy free cheese and popped it back into the oven for about another 10-15 minutes. I wait until the cheese is melted and the bottom is a little browned.

The great part about this crust, is that you can reuse it later. I haven't attempted to freeze it, but I imagine that you could. I usually keep a plain crust in the refrigerator for the week so I have a quick meal ready to go. All in all, its so versatile that you can make whatever kind of pizza you want in about 30 minutes any night of the week (or breakfast!)

Sweet Potato Pizza Crust

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small sweet potato

• 1/3-2/3 cup gluten free flour

• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats or oat flour

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon minced onion

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 1 teaspoon basil

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bake one small sweet potato in microwave for 5 minutes and peel.

2. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

3. Place all ingredients in a food processor or mix by hand. Mix thoroughly.

4. You may need to play with the amount of flour you add depending on the size of your potato. Add a tablespoon or two at a time after the first 1/3 cup to get a doughy consistency.

5. Grease a baking sheet and make two small crusts. TIP!: Take a spatula and dunk in flour and this will help you pat out your dough without it sticking to your fingers or the spatula. Keep dipping in flour as often as needed.

6. Bake for 10 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and add desired toppings. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes.

8. Remove from oven, cut and enjoy.

xx

Rita