Artichoke Pizza with Bacon, Chicken, & Pesto Dipping Sauce

Pizza? Yes. It’s all Paleo. The crust is made of cauliflower and almond. Before you shake your head and walk away, just try it. 🙂

So this is sort of a long recipe, but it’s highly worth it.

I promise you it tastes better than real pizza and you will get full on 2 pieces rather than eating 4 or 5 from a delivery joint.

Artichoke Pizza with Bacon, Chicken, & Pesto Dipping Sauce

8 ounces cooked and diced chicken
4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup sautéed bell peppers
1/2 cup cooked onions
1/2 cup cooked mushrooms

So, before you begin the crust or the sauces, I highly recommend you sauté the onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers in some olive oil and garlic and pre cook them before you use them as toppings on this gorgeous thing I call a pizza. You can cook the chicken however you want (grill it for the best results)… and the bacon will do just fine in the microwave or in the oven baked on parchment paper.

Now that you have your toppings mise en place, you can begin to prepare the crust:

Crust:
2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/8 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, cooked and pulsed into couscous-like consistency
2 eggs
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands until well combined.
Press into a well-oiled baking pan and then bake in pre heated oven for 15 minutes while you prepare the artichoke spread and the pesto topping/dipping sauce.

Artichoke Spread (this will be one of the pizza “sauces”)
1/3 cup pitted green olives
2 15-oz cans/jars artichoke hearts, drained
1 Tbsp capers, drained
2 tbs crushed garlic
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor and set aside.
This spread can be used as a “hummus” type dip for vegetables, or as the first layer of spread on this pizza.

Red Sauce
This is the only step where I took a little teeny shortcut.
I used an organic pasta/tomato sauce in a thin layer over the artichoke spread before I topped the pizza with the cooked toppings and about 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

When you have all your toppings on the pizza, put it back in the oven and bake until the pizza is warmed through and the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Then, remove it from the oven and allow to cool slightly before topping it with dollops of the homemade pesto.

Pesto Topping
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor and set aside. You will use this “topping” on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and you are ready to eat it.

Ding! It’s not delivery… it’s Paleo… 😉