Kale-Crust Pizza

I’m a big fan of kale chips, Kath-style. Kale chips somehow manage to combine crispy crunch with chewy substance. While the properties of crisp and chew may initially seem at odds with each other, they make for quite the satisfying combo — a combo that I also enjoy in the form of a perfectly baked pizza crust. With the BSI: Kale deadline fast approaching, I put my creative cooking hat on. Hmmmm, I thought, could it be possible to turn kale chips into a pizza crust? The answer, apparently, is YES!!

Ingredients:

Crust (for one 6-8 inch pizza):

– 4 cups kale chips, Kath-style

– 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

– 1 egg white

Toppings:

– whatever you want (I used fat free feta, fresh chopped tomatoes, sauteed onions and mushrooms, chicken, and cheddar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Mix kale chips, flour, and egg white. Use a food processor or immersion blender to process partially so that pieces of kale remain but a “dough” is formed. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball:

Put the “dough” in a nonstick pan and use your fingers to flatten it:

I did not use oil in the pan because I figured the chips had enough oil in them already, but the dough stuck a little, so it might be a good idea to spray the pan first. Cook the crust over low-medium heat until the egg starts to set and hold everything together. Flip:

Once both sides of the crust are cooked, transfer to a pizza stone or cookie sheet and bake additional 10-20 minutes in oven until desired crispness.

Layer on your toppings:

Bake an additional 10 minutes until toppings are heated through and cheese has melted:

I used a pizza cutter to slice my pie into wedges:

And if you’re still not sold on the pizza-ness of a kale crust, just look at how well it supports all of the toppings!

More sturdy than most restaurant-bought pizzas, if you ask me! The kale made for a perfect pizza crust texture: crispy and chewy at the same time, exactly what I was going for. I will have to keep this recipe in mind for the next time a pizza craving hits!