Lock-down Kitchen Special - Flour-free Pizza Base!

Here's something a little different for you all,  and hopefully it will be of some help in the lockdown!

Now there's nothing better than a home-made pizza, but in these locked down days, flour can be a big hard to come by. However fear not, for there is a way to make a lovely alternative pizza base without any flour at all!

For this little miracle you will need -

• 2 eggs
• a standard pot of cottage cheese
• 100g of instant mash powder
• a pinch of salt
• all the usual gubbins for pizza topping

1) Whisk up the eggs and mix together with the cottage cheese until you have a smooth mixture. You can do this by hand, but using a blender or food mixer is easier!

2) Measure out 100g of instant mash powder into a big mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt or whatever seasoning you fancy

3) Pour in the cottage cheese/egg mix and stir together with a spatula. Very soon you will have a firm dough forming that you can knead by hand into a ball.

4) This dough will roll out nice, but is a bit prone to breaking and is a bit sticky. Now usually I'd recommend flouring the surface and rolling pin, but as flour is in short supply, I recommend rolling it out between a folded piece of baking paper. Basically measure out a piece that is twice the size of your baking tray and fold it over.

5) Place the newly formed pizza base and baking tray onto the top shelf of a pre-heated oven and bake at Gas Mark 6 / 204°C. Basically bake it until it is as crispy as you want it! I find 10 to 15 minutes normally does the trick! Also depending on your oven, you might want to turn it halfway so it cooks evenly.

6) Add your sauces and toppings! For a pizza sauce, I favour using passata, with a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, a smidge of ketchup, and a good grind of black pepper. Depending on what toppings you are using you can add additional spices and herbs to customise it as you desire.

7) Finally cook in the oven for around 12 minutes, and you're done!

If you don't fancy pizza, this same dough also makes a nice cheese scone, and I have had some success using it for pie pastry too! Do be warned, depending on the cottage cheese and instant mash you use, the finished pizza can be a bit floppier than a regular base, and so it could get a bit messy if eating it by the slice by hand. We all love pizza, but we don't want to be wearing it ;)

Plus, it's not just a good alternative to flour, but it's lower in carbs, and can be made with fat-free cottage cheese to further ease your waist-line! Yes, you can eat pizza and stay on that slimming diet! Enjoy!

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