Last week I made an Italian Taco and it got me thinking about what other cultural mash-ups I could do. Although the Mexican Pizza is somewhat common most places just throw taco ingredients on a typical pizza crust. In Olympia Washington I used to love a place called El Sarape; they made the Mexican pizza the way I like it, with crispy tortillas instead of a pizza crust and lots of olives. Of course, it was covered in meat and cheese as well and now I live in Austin Texas, so I thought I could try my own version. I have had some Teese kickin’ around the back of the fridge for a while now along with some cheddar Follow Your Heart so I knew I could keep up the cheesy element and I also had some olives. Two cups of black beans in the freezer would make a great base re-fried and some salsa, which is just Spanish for sauce, right? It ended up being, by far, the best Mexican Pizza I have ever had. If it sounds appealing you should try it out, I think kids would love this recipe and it came together really quickly and was very filling for two people. You could bake the tortillas instead of frying them and not add the cheese and it it would be a fairly healthy meal as well. I didn’t measure anything out and the quantities will depend on how big your tortillas are so I will approximate.
Ingrediants:
2 Large Tortillas
2 Cups of Black Beans
1/2 Cup of Onions, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/4 Cup of Mozzarella and/or Cheddar style vegan cheese
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 cup Vegetable Broth
1/3 cup Salsa
1/4 cup Olives
you can also add green onions, chives, mushrooms, spinach, corn, whatever you like
Saute a half a cup of chopped onions and a couple cloves of chopped garlic for 5 minutes
Add a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of chili powder
Add black or pinto beans and saute another 5 minutes
Add about a half cup or so of vegetable broth and cook another minute
Mash the whole mixture with a potato masher and set burner to low
Meanwhile heat canola oil, one inch deep, in a pan that is the same size or a little bigger than your tortillas
Test to see if the oil is ready by dropping in a tiny bit of the tortilla. If it sizzles on contact you are ready to go.
Fry the tortillas on each side until golden, about two minutes and then set on paper towels to drain
Preheat the broiler
Spread three quarters of the bean mixture on the tortilla and top with the second tortilla and lightly press together
Mix the remaining beans with the salsa and top the tortilla
Cover with shredded teese or other vegan cheese, olives, and any other toppings
Place pizza under broiler until cheese is melted
Slice and enjoy!
I also discovered the greatest chips at the store. The brand is “Food Should Taste Good”. I saw that on the bag as I was marching through the aisle, it stopped me in my tracks. Food shouldtaste good I thought to myself and then laughed and saw that they were olive chips, had natural ingrediants and appeared vegan. They were terrific! Olive Chips Link
