National Pizza Month, Week 4: Mexican Pizza with a Black Bean Tequila Crust
Well, National Pizza Month has been fun. For the final week, I decided to go with an old childhood favorite. Once I finally overcame my fear of marinara sauce and accepted pizza into the then exclusive club of “foods Jo eats,” make your own pizza night became one of my favorites. I’d start with a jar of Don Imus salsa and go from there.
This time I started with the crust, which incorporates a shot of tequila and a can of black beans to fully capture the Mexican theme. Did you know that D.C. has a law requiring that your purchase a minimum of six airplane bottles? And a minimum of $7 for credit card purchases? So we have some tequila leftover should you crave a shot.
Anyways, back to the crust. It was a little dryer than I would have liked. See my notes about adjusting the amount of flour. It may also be the fact that I used wheat flour. Although I’m usually a whole grain-kinda girl, I’ve noticed that I prefer the texture of pizza dough made with white flour as of late. It just rises better and gets that chewy crust I love. I did like how the flavor of the beans came through. And no, you can’t taste the tequila.
You have a good deal of flexibility with this pizza. Start with your favorite salsa. This time, I used Trader Joe’s garlic chipotle salsa, the closest I’ve been able to come to Willy’s. Then I topped it with ground turkey, black olives (on half to save myself the trouble of listening to Courtney pontificate on how anyone can possibly enjoy the taste of sea water), fresh diced tomatoes, and corn. Finished off, of course, with crumbled tortilla chips and plenty of shredded cheese. I guess I pretty much made nachos and put them on top of a pizza. Because who should have to choose?
More great pizzas…
- Thai Chicken Pizza with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Smoked Salmon and Avocado Pizza with Pesto Cream Cheese Sauce on a Garlic Dill Crust
- Fig, Caramelized Onion and Proscuitto Pizza with Rosemary and Blue Cheese
- Maple-Bourbon Braised Pork Belly Pizza with Pineapple and Caramelized Onions
- Korean BBQ Pizza with Kimchi and Prosciutto
- Brie, Apple and Italian Sausage on a Pumpkin Crust
Mexican Pizza
- 1/2 recipe black bean tequila crust (see below)
- Salsa
- 8 oz ground turkey, cooked (with chili powder, if desired)
- Shredded cheese
- Canned corn
- Diced Tomato
- Sliced black olives
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Additional suggestions: shredded lettuce, avocado, cilantro
Black Bean Tequila Crust
- 1 cup warm water
- 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- *2 to 2-1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- Pinch of salt
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup tequila
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
*I used 2 1/2 cups of flour and the crust turned out very dry. I recommend starting with 1 3/4 cups and slowly adding more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.
Method . . .
- Mix the yeast into the warm water and let sit until bubbly. About 5 minutes.
- Puree black beans with 1/4 cup tequila and the lime juice. Mix 2/3 of the black bean puree with the water/yeast and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Then make an indent in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients and the remaining black bean puree.
- Mix together and then knead with your hands to form a smooth, elastic ball. Add additional flour at this point as necessary.
- Cover bowl and let rise in a warm spot for up to 2 hours.
This will make one very large pizza or two medium-sized pizzas (2-3 servings). If you don’t want an extra large pizza, divide dough into two balls and save one for a rainy day.
