Primal Pizza

One of the things that I cannot live without on this gluten-free journey is pizza!  Though there are a lot of gluten-free crust mixes out there made with a rice flour mixture, but my favorite is still "Primal Pizza"--a recipe that I found on http://www.marksdailyapple.com/.  It is made with almond flour, which makes it extremely healthy!  I have made some minor changes to the recipe, which I will tell you about, and according to my husband, have "perfected" it.  Yippee!
As for the toppings I used this time...
I just got creative with stuff I had on hand, and it was surprisingly delicious!

Primal Pizza, Chipolte style!

Crust:

2 Cups Almond Meal/Flour **See NOTE

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tsp salt

Toppings:

• Muir Glen Pizza Sauce (can't find this at Crest, so I just load up when I go to Target. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this sauce?)
• Shredded Mexican Cheese mix
• 1 lb. Chipotle Ground Beef --recipe at bottom of page 
• Chopped Onions

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all crust ingredients in a large mixing bowl. This should give you a ball of “dough”. If your dough is too “mushy” (like mine was), continue to add almond flour until you get a good consistency.

3. Make a pizza sheet or baking tray non-stick. This is VERY important if you want your pizza slices to come off in one piece.

4. Press your dough on the sheet nice and even about 1/4 inch in the middle and 1/2 inch at the edges.

5. Put crust in the oven for 15 minutes. It should look slightly golden brown when you take it out.

6.  Load up your pre-baked crust with toppings, then pop it back into the oven until crust is golden brown, and cheese has melted--about 14-15 minutes.

My notes on the crust:


--I have added different things to the crust mixture every time I've made it for additional flavor. I've tried basil, parmesean cheese, and ground flax seed. All have been yummy! The flax seed added some nice "grain-ish" flavor, not to mention health benefits!
--spread out the crust mixture with a rubber spatula--you may even need to grease it. The "dough" is super sticky, and has to be spread like frosting on the pizza pan. Make it as THIN as possible.


Chipotle Ground Beef:


1. Brown ground beef, and drain if needed (if using http://www.plumrichbeef.com/, you won't need to)
2. Add to browned beef:
1 t. garlic powder
1 T. chili powder
1/2 T. cumin
2T. Chipole Chilis in Abodo sauce (JUST the sauce)
2 t. salt (you may want to add more later to the meat per your taste)
1/3 C. water

Simmer until water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. This allows the beef to really absorb the flavor of the spices.



**Note: Almond Flour
Yes, you can buy it at Akins or Whole Foods, but it's usually cheaper to make it. Just buy some BLANCHED (Blanched= no skin) slivered almonds, (If you're local, I buy mine at Crest. They have the biggest packages and the best prices) and grind them as fine as possible in a food processor, or better yet, a "Bullet" or coffee grinder. Be careful, because if you grind them too long, they are no longer dry, but begin turning into almond butter! (Humm...maybe I should post my recipe for that?) After grinding, sift out the bigger pieces by rubbing them through a collander. And voila', almond flour! For more almond flour recipes, check out http://www.elanaspantry.com/.