If like me you are always looking for healthy, genuine recipes that also tease the palate, you are in the right place! And here imagination gives us a big helping hand, as do broccoli! First of all, I tell you that, belonging to the cabbage family, they are considered a food with indisputable anti-cancer properties. They contain a high percentage of antioxidants essential for the health of our bones, liver and brain. Regular consumption also greatly reduces LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad one, in favor of the good, as well as triglycerides, which we know are major risk factors for heart disease. Of course, on the other hand, not everyone appreciates this valuable vegetable, especially children, but with this recipe you will see that it will be much easier to introduce such an important vegetable into your diet for the benefit of health and pleasure for the palate. This is a clever pizza made from broccoli, vegetarian style and really low in calories. Moreover, precisely because of its characteristics, it is flour- and yeast-free, so it will surprise you! You only need to blend the broccoli and then mix them with the rest of the ingredients and spread everything on a baking sheet. You will get the base for an unusual and tasty pizza that you can top as you wish. I suggest the classic margherita topping, with tomato and mozzarella, and the addition of a few black olives, which are wonderful! Once ready, you can cut it into slices just as you would a regular pizza and bring it to the table as an informal main course! Try it yourself and then tell me!
If you enjoy playing with vegetables and creating light but tasty recipes, also try these other ideas I’ve developed especially for you:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4-6 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
⚠ IN THIS RECIPE THERE ARE ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it won’t cost you anything extra!
- 6 1/2 cups broccoli (florets)
- 1.5 oz grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- 2 oz feta (crumbled)
- 1 tbsp mixed aromatic herbs (thyme, chives, bay leaf, marjoram or herbs of your choice)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup tomato purée (I used datterino)
- 6.5 oz mozzarella for pizza
- 5 black olives
- to taste dried oregano
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Parchment paper
- Paper towels
Steps
Start by washing the broccoli florets thoroughly under running water. You can also use the stalks; just peel them with a vegetable peeler to remove the tougher outer layer.
Dry them well by patting with kitchen paper and transfer them into the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse several times until reduced to very fine crumbs.
Transfer everything into a bowl, add the eggs, a pinch of salt and the herb mix.
Also add the grated Parmesan and the finely crumbled feta.
Mix everything and pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, trying to form a disk with the help of a spatula. Compact well and bake in a static oven preheated to 392°F for 15′.
Then take your broccoli pizza out of the oven and top it with the tomato purée, spreading it with a spoon as you would a regular pizza.
Finish with the mozzarella cut into small cubes *, the pitted olives sliced into rounds and a sprinkle of oregano. Return to the oven at 374°F for another 10′ or until the mozzarella has melted well.
Remove from the oven, let warm slightly before slicing and serve with a drizzle of raw olive oil and fresh basil leaves if you like.
And voilà… the broccoli fake pizza is ready to enjoy!
Enjoy from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can keep the broccoli fake pizza in the fridge for 2-3 days. I do not recommend freezing it.
Tips, notes, variations and suggestions
🔵 * It is important in this preparation that the mozzarella is the kind for pizza, much drier than a fior di latte, for example. Otherwise, you should drain it for at least 1 hour before use.
🔵 If you want to experiment with more unusual pairings, I suggest adding fresh cherry tomatoes, a few anchovy fillets in oil or quenelles of spreadable fresh cheese, arugula and smoked salmon to be added only at the end of cooking. Of course, you can also enjoy it plain as it is, since the dough is already quite flavorful as well as nutritionally complete.
