An Experiment in Pizza Making.

Here's the basis of it; I wanted pizza, didn't want to wait to make dough; it was a Sunday, so the local stores in this town are all closed; and the two pizzerias in town suck big time anyway.  What's a pizza fanatic to do?  Well I could have driven all the way to Moab or Cortez to buy dough, or even get a pizza at one of their local shops.  Nope, I improvised and used this round, extremely flat bread I had in the fridge...a tortilla.  Nothing new you say;nope I've seen "Mexican pizza" advertised in many places, even tried one.  It's basically sauce and cheese baked between two tortillas; simple, fast and easy; I just decided to do my own take on it, as per usual.  Remember, I'm a Pizza Snob, so won't settle for just as is; I even went so far as to make a Mexican pizza into a casserole and folks loved it.

For this pizza, I used a finely shredded mozzarella; wanted it to melt quickly, but not be so gooey that it would act more like cement than a good cheese.  I like using Sargento brand cheeses; they taste so much fresher, and they've got a good variety of, not just mixtures, but the way the cheeses are sliced or shredded.  I used my homemade pasta sauce, since it already had a great infusion of garlic and Italian herbs in it; and the fresh tomatoes I used make it an out of this world sauce.  Sorry, not being humble when it comes to my sauce.  I only used one tortilla; I wanted a pizza, not a stuffed pizza (two layers of dough with toppings/sauce inside), nor a Mexican pizza which, to me, looks like a quesadilla.  I also used a nonstick pizza pan which I preheated in the oven; hot pan and oven ensures a crispy pizza.  The brushing of olive oil let the untopped edges crisp up golden brown; the hot pizza pan allowed the bottom of the tortilla to do the same.  It was a most enjoyable eating experience!!!

So here goes, and whether it is just for you or with another person; or even make it with your children; enjoy!

Tortilla Pizza

Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients:

1 (10 – 12 inch) flour tortilla

½ tsp olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
½ cup pizza sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450F; place inside a 12 inch nonstick pizza pan to allow it to preheat with the oven.

 

Place tortilla on a plate or board from which it can be easily transferred.  Brush the tortilla with the olive oil; spread half the cheese to within one inch of the edge.  Pour the sauce, starting in the center and work outwards; spread remaining half of cheese over the tortilla.

 

Remove the preheated pizza pan from the oven and carefully transfer the prepped tortilla to its center. 

 

 

 

Place pan back into the oven and bake for seven (7) minutes.  Transfer baked pizza to plate or board to be cut into fourths.

 

Makes 1 pizza (serves 1-2 people)

Mary Cokenour