Mexican Pizza

I find pizza to be a common weekend dinner in Norway, whether it is frozen, bought, or homemade. But I get bored easily with the same thing every weekend, so I decided to jazz it up, and still keep with the tradition.
When I first met my husband he thought that Mexican food was meat cooked with taco spice and canned beans and cheese in a torilla. Poor thing! I later introduced him to the world of real spices and flavor. Let's just say he'll never go back to taco spice! He is a great student in the kitchen and is quickly learning how to really flavor food! Although this pizza isn't authentic Mexican food, I tried to make it as Mexican as possible by using similar ingredients.
So this is my new favorite recipe for my Mexican pizza for all the ladies in my FB group that asked for recipes. This  is one of many to come!
There are two versions; one with beef, and one with minced meat.

FOR THE DOUGH:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.  
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round circle or a large rectangle.
Transfer on to a baking pan with baking paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside. It might rise a little bit during the cooking time.

FOR THE "SAUCE". IN THIS CASE BEANS!!

• 1 can of La Costeña refried pinto beans or 1 can of any type of bean/bønner**
• 1 red chile pepper finely chopped (optional)
• 100ml milk
• salt
• pepper
• garlic pepper
• 2-3 tbsp lime juice 
  
   

Pour the beans into a saucepan on low-medium heat. Add the red chile pepper and lime juice. Add salt, pepper and garlice pepper to your own taste. Add milk to liquify more, for an easier spread on the dough
(If you are not using the pre-refried beans mash and fry them with 100grams of butter. Add chile, lime juice salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Add milk to liquify) 





FOR THE TOPPING

• 600grams beef OR 500 grams of minced meat
• 1 can of La Costeña chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2-3 garlic cloves sueezed through a garlic press or finely chopped 
• Freshly chopped cilantro/coriander
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• dry red chili flakes
  

(For the beef version, we go to the deli and ask for 600grams of thin 1/2 inch slices of any good beef they have. Kind of like a carne asada filet. The quality of the meat depends on how much you want to spend, so it's up to you.What I like to do before cooking is let it marinade 1-2 hours before hand. I improvise a lot in the kitchen depending on what I have. Last time I made a simple lime-onion-pepper-tequila marinade. Chop 1onion into thin slices, pour 2 shots of tequila, squeeze about 3-4 big limes into whatever youll have your marinade in and about a tablespoon of pepper. Mix it all up and add the beef. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 45 minutes in I like to move the meat around to make sure everything gets marinated.)

Cook onion and garlic in oil or butter in large saucepan until tender and the onion is a clear white. Add the meat and cooke until brown. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and red chili flakes to taste. Add 2-3 chipotle peppers and some of the adobo sauce. Don't cut the chipotle peppers unless you want it spicy. I just let them cook a bit to get the juices inside to seep out. I later take them out. Biting into one of these will have you with your mouth open under the sink if you're not used to spice but the adobo sauce adds a nice kick to the meat! Take it off  the heat, and add the chopped cilantro/coriander. Mix together.

NOW!!! Spread the beans over on the dough, add the meat on top, spreading equally around, and top off with cheese.

 

Bake at 250 degrees C for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

 

 

 

Additional toppings I like to add are sour cream and avocado slices or guacamole. The sour cream helps to kill some of the spice if its too spicy and the avocado just tastes great with it!

Enjoy!

Next blog I will give a recipe for making tamales in Norway!