Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie
Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie is our version of quiche. This combines the goodness of many vegetables and gives your family a wholesome, but enjoyable meal for even the pickiest eaters. Everyone loves a crunchy crust and this one delivers.
Cauliflower is everywhere in cooking today. Growing up we ate a lot of it, but mostly it was boiled and served with a simple dressing of oil and vinegar. We used it in soups and of course my favourite was dipped in egg and flour and fried. This was the best of Calabrese Cuisine. Who doesn’t like fried foods?
As we get older, we seek comfort, but healthier versions of our favourite foods. I have seen many versions of cauliflower crusts. I use this one for pizza too. With an abundant supply of antioxidants cauliflower has many health benefits: https://www.naturalfoodseries.com/13-benefits-cauliflower/
My Riced Cauliflower. I buy it on sale, put it in a food processor and then freeze it. 
Adding potato flakes to the crust helps to bind the ingredients and soaks up any excess water from freezing the cauliflower.
Use a flan pan because it gives a nice presentations. Grease it with olive oil and shake on some breadcrumbs for a little crumb coating.
Spoon the crust into the pan.
You can use your hands to spread the crust. I have this mini rolling pin by Pampered Chef and it one of my favourite tools in the kitchen. It helps me get right into the edges. Always use a piece of plastic wrap for spreading it helps to smooth anything out without sticking.
The filling comes together.
The crust comes out of the oven and it is ready for the filling.
Spoon the ricotta over the pie. Tear the basil and put it on over the pie.
I like to peek into the oven.
Pie is done.
Ready for a slice of this pie?
Italian Cauliflower Egg Pie
Ingredients
The Crust
- 3 1/2 cups riced cauliflower
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Italian breadcrumbs
The filling
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup potato flakes
- 1/4 cup onion flakes
- 2 small zucchini
- 1 cup ricotta
- salt and pepper to taste
- handful of fresh basil or parsley
Instructions
The Crust
-
Set oven to 425 F.
Mix cauliflower, parmesan cheese, garlic, eggs and Italian seasoning.
Prepare a spring form pan by greasing it with the 1 tbsp olive oil and then cover as much of the pan as you can with the bread crumbs. Shake off excess.
Add a little olive oil to your hands and press in the cauliflower mixture.
Press to cover bottom and sides of pan.
Place in oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven.
The filling
-
Set oven to 375 F.
Grate zucchini on grater.
Dice onion.
Combine eggs, milk, parmesan salt and pepper.
Whisk until all are blended.
Add the grated zucchini and diced onion.
Add fresh basil or parsley.
Stir to blend all ingredients.
Pour egg mixture into shell.
Add dollops of ricotta over the pie.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove and let cool 15 minutes before cutting.
Serve with any fresh greens.
Recipe Notes
I rice and freeze my own cauliflower. Simply wash your cauliflower. Put it through a food processor and freeze in Ziploc bags.
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