Paleo pesto pizza

What you need

For the crust:

• 3/4 C coconut flour
• 1/4 C almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp mixed Italian spice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 Tbsp water

For the topping:

• Homemade basil pesto (combine fresh basil and olive oil and grind together)*
• Chicken breast (BBQ chicken is fine)
• Spinach
• Bacon (optional)**
• Olives
• Roast capsicum
• Pineapple (tinned is fine, just rinse off the juice)
• Chilli powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Mix all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl and combine well until it turns into a dough like consistency. You may need to add more water if it’s too dry.
• Spread the mixture out evenly onto a very well greased pizza pan (or it will stick). The mixture will be crumbly so be patient, work it into the pan with your fingers until all the gaps are filled.
• Put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden all over.
• While the crust is baking, chop up and prepare the ingredients for the topping. Use whatever you prefer… feel free to experiment with flavours.
• I fried off the bacon and chicken on a pan with some coconut oil.
• Once the base is cooked, spread the pesto* to cover the base and arrange the toppings on the pizza (feel free to use your own flavour combinations)
• Place the pizza back into the oven and cook for another 10 minutes.

The verdict: The base is very dry… There are alternative recipes out there that might create a better texture such as http://cavemanstrong.com/2011/01/paleo-pizza-crust/. But overall, for someone on a very restricted low FODMAP diet, it’s not too bad at all and I’ll definitely make it again.

Notes:
* I am sensitive to tomatoes and garlic (usual found in tomato bases), hence the pesto, but feel free to use tomato paste, etc.
** There are different schools of thought about the use of bacon in paleo meals. I’ve used a small lean eye of bacon for this pizza.

I am also lactose intolerant and haven’t used cheese… But feel free to add it or a lactose free cheese alternative like soy cheese.