Pizza that is Healthier and Easy to Make

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Cauliflower crust pizza is one of my all time favorites when it comes to a healthy meal. However, even when I follow everything the recipe says to do I still don’t achieve that bready texture and quality that I’d really love to have. For someone who is avoiding glutens this can be a problem.

Well there is a recipe that offers the alternative to the cauliflower crust that will give that bready quality everyone craves. This is called the Socca Pizza. (Socca rhymes with Polka, if you left out the L sound.) The Socca Pizza is a healthy alternative that is taking the healthy food world by storm. It is made using chickpea flower, which means it is gluten free and you’ll still get that bready, nutty chew that makes it better than the top brand vegetable based version. Not only does it taste great but chickpeas have been proven to lower the risk of heart disease and to lower cholesterol. Chickpeas are also one of the most affordable superfoods on the market today. You only have to have two other ingredients for this particular recipe, water and olive oil. Talk about simple!

Photo: Pexels

There are many different ways to prepare a Socca Pizza. Some people are even doing a breakfast version in place of the less healthy breakfast options. You can even choose whether you want the thinner crust or if you want the more Italian style thicker crust. There are a so many ways to prepare this pizza and you can feel good about being healthy while enjoying a delicious meal.

Super-Easy Socca Pizza

Makes 1 10-inch pizza, 2 small/medium servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea or garbanzo flour (Bob’s Red Mill makes a great one)
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves minced garlic (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
• Toppings of choice (tomato sauce, pesto sauce, pineapple, fresh greens, farmers market vegetables, you name it)

Method

1. Whisk together all ingredients save for 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toppings and let sit for an hour to let everything soak in.
2. Turn your oven on broil and let a 10-inch cast-iron pan (or ovenproof pan of choice) sit in there to get warm and toasty. Remove carefully using oven mitts, then set on stove.
3. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat bottom. Pour into socca batter. Tilt the pan around until it’s evenly spread. Return to oven and let broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the edges get brown and toasty.
4. Remove from oven and add toppings. You can serve it immediately, or if you’d like the cheese to melt, return to oven for 1 to 2 more minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
5. Slice and serve! <<(recipe from mindbodygreen)>>