Tex Mex Pizza

Pizza is one of those wonderful vessels that can carry an array of toppings with ease and poise, right? This Tex Mex Pizza is no exception. It’s a little off the beaten path (with refried beans as our “pizza sauce”), but it is ohhh so good.

I use my Small Batch Pizza Dough recipe for the crust, but you can absolutely use store-bought pizza dough or dough from your favorite local pizza place. Once the dough is ready, this is really an easy pizza recipe. The toppings are what totally makes it delicious, and the entire recipe comes together in about Ohhh, flatbread.  We met again this week.  As an individual who has had no culinary training whatsoever, all of my skills are created by learning things as I go.  However, the task of learning how to make flatbread and thus creating the ideal flatbread has eluded me for the past few weeks … until now.

Through scanning my trusty research database, (some of you may know this as Pinterest), I always see flatbreads for every season and occasion.  Healthy summer flatbread, comfort food winter flatbread, flatbread for your New Years Eve party, flatbread for your pet-learned-how-to-walk party.  I don’t know, it seems like these things should be a piece of cake to make.  Or … wait a minute … most of these recipes use a store-bought flatbread?!  Say WHAAAAT?  

No.  If I’m going to throw a bunch of ingredients on top of some flatbread I bought at the store, then what’s the point?  That’s like, cheating.

As I said before, I’ve been hunting for the perfect flatbread recipe for quite some time now, and I think I have finally found it.  Let me give you the characteristics I seek when I refer to an “ideal” flatbread:

1. Thin:  about 1/4 inch thick
2. A crunchy bottom crust
3. Sturdy enough to hold ample toppings
4. Not overly doughy tasting

I bet that list blew your mind.  I bet you’re like, “Wow.  That girl really has a way with words, and I admire her culinary-word-knowledge.”  I know.  Don’t you feel like you’ve learned so much today?  I think we all do.

My first attempts were way too thick, and while they tasted great, there was so much bread that it took away from the flavor of the toppings.  It also took longer to cook the thicker dough, so the chicken on top of my flatbread dried out.  This resulted in doughy flatbread with dried chicken, and more than a few pouty faces from my side of the breakfast bar.

This new and improved version has all the typical ingredients, but here’s the neat part:  you can roll it paper-thin, and it holds its own when faced with heavy toppings … and it holds its own place in my heart, as I’ve been searching for it all this time.  So romantic.

I made two very different flatbreads (same crust, different toppings) this week after I found this recipe.  I made one with seasoned chicken breast, roasted garlic cloves, creamy white sauce and spinach.  Mmm.  Totally made it up on the spot after my new addiction for roasted garlic got the best of me, and I suddenly found myself thirty minutes into roasted yet another batch of roasted garlic cloves.

Anyway, I wanted to do something completely different from the first one I made, so I winged it for my second flatbread, too.  Mark loved the first one, and I preferred the second one … barely.  I had to share it the moment after I started eating! 

Alas, the following recipe is for what I like to call “The Fiesta in your Mouth Flatbread Recipe”, or just “fiesta flatbread.”, presented to you exclusively from a flavor journal.

[my additional tips!]:

Actual Prep / cook time:  50 minutes

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fiesta flatbread.

Author Sara

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 2

this chicken flatbread is a fiesta for your mouth!

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

for flatbread

• ▢ 1 cup flour
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• ▢ 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. warm-to-hot water

for chicken

• ▢ 1 chicken breast
• ▢ 1 tsp. cumin
• ▢ 1/2 cup sriracha
• ▢ 1/2 lime squeezed
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. pepper

for toppings

• ▢ 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/3 cup corn kernels
• ▢ 5 grape tomatoes diced (or one large tomato)
• ▢ 1/2 jalapeno diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• ▢ 1/3 chopped green onion

for bean spread

• ▢ 1/3 cup refried beans
• ▢ 2 tbsp. sour cream

Instructions

for flatbread

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar into the warm-to-hot (but not scalding) water. Allow the yeast to munch on the sugar for five minutes until foamy.
• Combine flour and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Once yeast is ready, pour it into the flour and salt mixture along with olive oil. Stir for a few minutes until dough is sticky and completely combined.
• Knead for an additional five minutes in the bowl.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside (preferably in a warm place) for up to thirty minutes, or just while you prepare your other ingredients!

for chicken

• Apply cumin to both sides of chicken breast and place breast into a large ziploc bag. Pour sriracha into bag, and squeeze lime over breast into bag. Toss chicken around inside of bag until completely coated with sriracha and lime juice. Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for thirty minutes.

for roasted toppings

• In an small oven-safe bowl, combine jalapeños, tomatoes and corn. Sprinkle salt and pepper over veggies, and lay butter over the top of the veggies. Roast at 350 degrees for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.

for bean spread

• Simply combine refried beans and sour cream into a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until both ingredients are completely combined and creamy. Turn off heat.

to make the flatbread

• Cook chicken over medium heat for about five minutes on each side, using no additional oil or butter. Once chicken is almost entirely cooked, remove from heat and allow to set. Shred the entire breast apart once it is cool enough to touch.
• Divide your dough into thirds. Coat a large, clean surface with additional flour (probably 1/3-1/2 cup). On the floured surface, roll the first dough portion out into a long, oval shape. Make sure to roll from the center out, and stretch your dough as much as possible (ideally about 15″ long, and about 6″ wide). You are shooting for a paper-thin appearance, so make it as thin as you can without tearing it!
• Place rolled out dough onto a large baking sheet. Top your dough with bean spread, coating the entire surface. Place all shredded chicken on top of bean spread, evenly distributing it across entire flatbread. Be sure the level of chicken is even across the bread to allow for even baking.
• Turn the oven up to 400 degrees and remove the roasted veggie mix from the oven and sprinkle it (again, evenly distributing) on top of flatbread. Place your flatbread into the oven once it reaches 400 degrees, and bake for ten minutes.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle shredded cheese over the entire surface. Once the cheese has melted into the toppings, finish it all off by sprinkling the chopped green onion over the top!
• Serve hot.

Notes

Feel free to substitute the cheese for chihuahua cheese or queso fresco! This is also a great vegetarian dish if you omit the chicken, or dairy-free without the sour cream and cheese. It will still taste great!
Also, the extra dough can be used for additional flatbreads or can be stored in the freezer for future use!

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