This Sicilian-Italian girl loves her pizza but doesn't eat much gluten anymore and trying to watch those carbs, so I took this pizza recipe inspired by my Sicilian great-grandmother and made it with almond flour. It's very simple and quick to make!
Ingredients:
FOR CRUST
1 1/2 cups of almond flour
(I use "Bob's Red Mill Super Fine Natural Almond Flour")
1 teaspoon of baking powder
half teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 egg or 2 egg whites
1/4 cup water
sprinkle of pepper flakes
FOR SAUCE
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves from garlic bulb
quarter onion
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh basil
Sprinkle of oregano
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes (I always use an Italian brand like Tuttorosso or Gia Russa)
FOR TOPPINGS:
Pecorino Romano grated cheese
Mozzarella (shredded or slices of fresh round)
Fresh basil
Or other toppings as you choose
Prep for sauce (prep time for both sauce & dough, 15 minutes)
- Peel and slice garlic cloves thin
- Chop onion
- Saute both on low for a couple minutes in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Watch carefully to not brown or burn.
- Add tomato sauce, one teaspoon sugar, five basil leaves, sprinkle of oregano & stir on medium low. After bubbles a bit, put back to low and let simmer while mixing dough.
Preheat oven to 365 degrees while you mix the dough.
Mix the dough:
In a large mixing bowl, use a large spoon to mix the almond flour, baking powder, garlic powder and pepper flakes. In separate bowl, whisk egg, olive oil and water and then add this to the bowl of flour mixture.
Turn off the heat on sauce.
Bake:
The almond flour is fine and creates a thin consistency so you will not be able to roll it.
Grease tray with an olive oil spray.
After mixing, pour the mixture on the center of the tray and use a regular tablespoon to slowly flatten out the dough about half an inch or 3/4 inch depending on what you like (thin or thicker), starting from the center to the edges to create a round (see photo above of my finished pizza) or you can make it into a rectangle.
Then use a large spoon to spread the sauce on the dough.
Sprinkle the Pecorino Romano cheese all over the sauce area.
Sprinkle shredded Mozzarella cheese or cut four small slices from a fresh mozzarella ball and place on each quadrant.
Bake for 20 minutes, then add 4 - 5 basil leaves or any other toppings and bake for another 3-5 minutes, reduce heat to 340. Edges should be golden or slightly browned when done. Let cool five minutes and dig in! Makes 5 slices.
Enjoy!