Taco Pizza (Vegetarian Recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 47: Week 2/ Day 3
Theme: Kid's Delight Event -- Pizza & Pasta
Dish: Taco Pizza

Today's dish is a Mexican - Italian fusion dish, Taco pizza. My son loves tacos and pizzas and this seemed to be a great dish which combines both of his favorites. I saw the recipe being made on TV by the Pioneer Woman and I knew I will be making it for my kids real soon.

Refried black beans are spread on the pizza instead of tomato sauce here and then baked with some grated cheese on top. What happens after the pizza comes out makes it a Mexican specialty.

After the pizza comes out of the oven, all the taco toppings go on top of it -- shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, crispy corn strips and a drizzle of spicy sour cream. I added just a few drops of hot sauce in the sour cream that my kids didn't really mind, but skip it if you think it's too spicy for the kids. All in all this pizza is quite a mouthful and both my kids and I really enjoyed this Mexican twist on the Italian pizza.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: Makes 1 12" pizza

Pizza Dough - ½ of the home made or store-bought pizza dough

For the Black Beans:
Black Beans - 1cup, cooked
Tomato puree - 2tbsp (or use 1 ripe tomato)
Red Chili powder - 1tsp
Ground Cumin - 1tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

For the toppings:
Monterey Jack Cheese - ½cup
Cheddar Cheese - ½cup
Corn Tortillas - 4, cut into thin strips
Sour Cream - 3tbsp
Hot sauce - 1tsp (add more for a spicier sauce)
Shredded Lettuce - 1cup
Tomato - 1~2, chopped
Cilantro - 3tbsp, chopped

Method:

• Make the Black beans: Heat 2tsp oil in a pan, add the black beans along with ½cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens a little bit. Mash the beans to get a refried beans like texture.
• Next add the tomato puree, red chili powder and ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another 3~5 minutes. If the mixture seems too thick, add some water to thin it out.
• Prepare the Toppings: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spread the strips of corn tortillas evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 6~8 minutes or until they turn golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• Spicy Sour Cream: Combine sour cream and hot sauce in a small bowl. Transfer to a piping bag or a ziploc bag and keep ready.
• Make Pizzas: Stretch the dough into fairly thin 12" round pizza.  If using my pizza dough recipe, then par-bake the crust for 6 minutes. If not the black beans can be spread right on the stretched out dough. Top the black beans with the cheeses.
• Bake for 8~10 minutes if using par-baked pizza crust or for about 12~15 minutes, until the crust turns golden.
• Once the pizza comes out of the oven, sprinkle with the shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
• Sprinkle the crispy corn tortilla strips and drizzle with the spicy sour cream. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Linking this to Mir's 'Kid's Delight -- Pasta & Pizza' event. Valli is the brain behind Kid's Delight event.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.