South of the Border Pizza

Pizza is a staple on our weekly menu here at casa de Wilkerson.  Not only is it a delicious and quick meal, the possible variations are endless.  Also, with our whole-wheat dough and veggie-centric toppings, I like to think our pizzas are at least healthy-ish.  And that's really what I'm going for in my diet, healthy-ish.

The dough we use is super simple to make.  In fact, Ryan has become the go-to pizza dough maker and doesn't even use a recipe any more. (See, no bread-baking experience necessary!) I'll do a full post on just exactly how to make this amazing dough later, but here is the basic recipe that we use.  The recipe either makes four individual sized pizzas or two large pizzas to share.  For us this means we usually eat pizza for two days in a row! Of course if you are still too scared to make your own dough, you can buy pre-made pizza dough at the grocery store, or an even better option is to ask your local pizza place if they will sell you a ball of dough.  In college we bought balls of dough from Shakespeare's Pizza for less than $1.  It was well worth the spare change and strange looks we got carrying a dough ball around campus!

When you make the pizza you can either be super fancy (like me) and stretch the dough with your hands, or less fancy but just as effective (like Ryan) and roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

Although we have made so many different varieties of pizzas, it had never occurred to me to make a Mexican inspired pizza until I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest.  In what may have been the fastest turn-around time in history from initial pin to reality, this pizza joined our menu for the week and won the imaginary blue ribbon for best pinterest inspired meal ever.  

The base is made up of black beans, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and chili en adobo all mashed together.  Chili en adobo was a new food for us.  It was spicy, smoky, and really imparted great flavor into the pizza.  Next time we will absolutely be using a heavier hand when applying the sauce.  

After the beans and chili en adobo sauce are spread evenly, top with onions, tomatoes, and corn.  At this point we also sprayed the exposed crust with olive oil and sprinkled on some Arizona Dreaming (we love our Penzeys spices!).  The olive oil and spices just make the crust a little more crunchy, golden, and delicious when baked.  

Then, just pop that sucker in an oven heated to 450 degrees for about about ten minutes. 

When the crust starts to turn golden brown, take the pizza out and sprinkle with cheese. Then put it back in the oven for about three minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

When the cheese is melted to gooey perfection, take the pizza out of the oven and slide it off the pan onto a cutting board (or two if your pizza is massive like ours). 

You could stop here and eat the pizza as is, but I don't think you want to do that.  We topped the pizza with a cool creamy sauce made of avocado, sour cream, a pinch of salt, and lime juice.  Instead of using half the avocado like the recipe suggests, we just doubled the sauce recipe and used the extra for dipping. 

In case you are unfamiliar with how to remove an avocado pit

Drizzle on the sauce, cut into pieces, and enjoy your quick, inexpensive, and healthy-ish dinner.  You deserve it! 

Our sauce could have been thinned a little more with lime juice, but we only had one lime! 

We will definitely be making a variation of this pizza again. Perhaps topped with grilled onions and peppers to make it more fajita inspired?  Or maybe instead of black beans and chili en adobo as a base using hummus and pesto?  Once you learn the basic technique, the ingredients are infinitely adaptable.

Does anyone else love experimenting with pizza toppings? Is there an amazing pizza you have had at a restaurant that you would be able to recreate at home?  Let me know in the comments!

This recipe is from thekitchn.com.  

South of the Border Pizza

1 1-lb ball of pizza dough, preferably homemade 

1 16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon chile en adobo, minced, plus extra sauce for spreading on the dough

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small tomato, diced

1 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (no thawing necessary)

1 cup Mexican cheese blend 

Sauce 

1 avocado

4 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

1 lime, juiced

1 dash of salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

Stretch or roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle the size of your pizza pan.  Or if you don't have a pizza pan, a rectangle the size of your cookie sheet.  Transfer the dough to your pan.

Microwave the black beans in a medium sized bowl for 30 seconds, or until they are soft enough to mash.  Add the chili en adobo, chili powder, cumin, salt, and olive oil.  Mash together with the back of a fork until it forms a paste.  

Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the sauce from the chili en adobo can onto your pizza dough. The more you spread, the spicier your pizza will be. Next, spread the bean paste evenly on the dough.  Then top with chopped onions, tomatoes, and corn. Spray or brush exposed crust edges with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite Mexican spice blend.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until the crust starts to turn golden brown.

While the pizza is baking, make the sauce by smashing together the avocado, sour cream, lime juice, and salt in a bowl.  

Remove the pizza, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for about 3 more minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Top the pizza with dollops of the avocado sauce, cut into pieces, and serve warm.  Any extra sauce can be used for dipping. 

Enjoy!