At the heart of any great dish lie the ingredients, how they feel, taste and complement each other is key to any great experience, and that goes for pizza too! Dressed in red onion, purple-hued sweet potatoes and fresh radish sprouts, there is no shortage of bright flavours and delicate nuance. Acting as a rest for its colourful ensemble of purple toppings, our homemade crust too shares a unique appearance to that of a purple haze as it is laced with garden-fresh beetroot, Castello Mature Cheddar, thyme, cauliflower and coconut flour to finish. Layered, beautiful and fresh, our purple cauliflower pizza has it all. As the finishing touch of our recipe, the importance of the cheese cannot be understated. Its job is not only to add texture and depth to your pizza, it also has to enhance flavours from its surrounding ingredients. This means that picking a cheese too strong or too mild could result in flavours feeling muddled or lacklustre at best. When selecting that perfect matchup of cheese and greens, it is key to the overall balance of your dish that you cater to the strongest profile of flavour. For our recipe, we considered the fresh feel from the mix of beetroot, onion, radish sprouts and sweet potato and decided to go for our Castello Creamy Blue. Given the zesty overtones and sweet base, this soft blue cheese looks to add a sense of complexity and body to your pizza. Seamed with streaks of blue marbling, its somewhat gentle flavour never saturates, instead providing subtle sparks of earthy tones of mushroom along a creamy texture. The perfect choice for a perfect pizza.
1. For the base pulse the cauliflower in a food processor, scraping the sides down a few times until the cauliflower is like couscous.
2. Cook the cauliflower in boiling water for 1 minute, strain and leave to cool for 5 minutes while peeling and grating the beetroot.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
4. Once the cauliflower has cooled enough to touch comfortably use a muslin cloth or tea towel to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
5. Next mix the cauliflower and beetroot together in a mixing bowl with the cheddar, eggs, garlic granules, dried thyme, salt, pepper and coconut flour.
6. Once fully incorporated line a baking tray with baking paper and form two pizza bases.
7. Cook for 20 minutes then add the toppings and cook for a further 7-10 minutes
Sometimes, the slightest thing makes a world of difference, this is especially true when it comes to what you pair your dish with. Spicy, rich or mild, no matter the preference you can be sure to find a perfect matchup from your drink whether you prefer beer or wine. While it might seem counterintuitive, looking for similar flavours in your beverage is a great way of enhancing subtler nuances from less prominent ingredients in your pizza. Pairing rich cheese with a full-bodied wine significantly boosts how you perceive nuance and flavour. Also note the texture, as the crumblier they get, the stronger they are.
Considering the zesty nature of our pizza and Castello Creamy White, red wines risk adding too much acidity to your palate. Instead, mature whites with tones of oak and milder acidity work wonders as a counterbalance while adding flavours of its own to boot. For beers, look for Pale Ales with slight tones of sweetness and malt for that perfect matchup.