Guest Post: Chicken Fajita Pizza from Flour & Spice

Today I’m doing something very cool. My blogging friend Sarah over at Flour & Spice is guest posting for me. Sarah and I became friends a while back and I’m very excited that she’s taking over my page today to share her awesome looking Chicken Fajita Pizza. So let me shut it and let Sarah speak. Sarah, everyone. Everyone, Sarah. *bows and backs away*

_______________________

Hello “I’ll Cook You Wash” readers! My name is Sarah and I blog over at Flour & Spice – a place populated by my riffs on classic South Asian foods and buttery sugary goodness. This blog is where I come for Indiras chit chat and an array of recipes so yummy and different from my usual ones. Thanks Indira for adding more deliciousness to all our lives 🙂 I think this is also where I thank you for having me here so consider yourself doubly thanked!

There are two kinds of Pizzas that I like – the classic Italian style thin crust, easy on the toppings, but not on flavour and the over the top thick crust with it’s generous toppings and delicious chew. Today I bring you the second kind. It is Fall you know – and what is more comforting than a warm thick crust Fajita inspired pizza? I love this pizza because it is so familiar yet different enough in it’s flavours that it stands out. It is different than the usual pizza because first of all, there is no pizza sauce. This pizza is where my jars of salsa find their final resting place. Add a smattering of savory firm black beans, sweet niblets of corn, crunchy red peppers, and flavourful chicken and it is an overwhelming win. Feeling a little more adventurous? Throw on some diced jalapenos and whatever else your heart desires. If you aren’t going to have some fun with pizza then what will you have fun with?

The pizza crust recipe is hardly my own, it slightly adapted from food.com and of all the ones that I have tried it is the easiest and most forgiving. You can also make this pizza with store bought dough, but I doubt it will taste as good as this one.

With regards to the toppings now that I have made this pizza thrice here are the two things that make all the difference – the salsa and the seasoning on the chicken. With the salsa pick something you would like to eat, but if you happen to have one with an unpleasant twang then dilute it with pizza sauce. The chicken is pretty straightforward; just remember to season it well so it gives your pizza that extra zing.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

Pizza Dough Ingredients

Yield: 1 thick crust pizza

2 ¼ tsp yeast

1 cup warm water

2 ½ cups flour

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp garlic powder

Pizza Toppings:

2 – 2 ½ cups shredded cheese – any combination of Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Cheddar.

1 ¼ cup salsa of choice – add more for a ‘saucier’ base, if your salsa has a high liqiuid content drain it for a few minutes

1/3 cup diced red pepper

1/3 cup corn niblets

1/3 cup cooked black beans

1 chicken tender or breast portion cut into bite sized pieces to yield ½ cup chicken

Seasoning for chicken: Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Cumin Powder

1 jalapeno (optional)

For the Crust:

Combine yeast and warm water, leave be for 2 minutes. Then add in the rest of your ingredients and knead to form a smooth dough. Mine is usually pretty sticky at this point. You can let it rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a kitchen towel or roll out immediately for your pizza pan. My preferred rolling technique is to generously flour the dough and then pat it into a disc shape. Then I hand stretch the dough – for a quick how to look here. Preheat your oven to 450 and bake for 10 minutes on a lightly oiled pizza pan (mine is 14 inches) or a baking sheet.

For the Pizza:

Drizzle a little oil into a frying pan to heat up. Then sprinkle your cut chicken pieces with salt, red chilli powder, and cumin powder. Don’t be shy with the seasonings – you want a nice kapow of flavour. Stir fry the chicken until cooked through. Check for seasoning.

Now is the fun part. Spread your salsa in an even layer almost all over the pizza dough – leave the edges salsa free. Then sprinkle on a quarter of the cheese. Scatter your chicken over top, followed by half the original cheese amount. Keeping the chicken beneath the cheese ensures it stays moist. Now add the remaining topping ingredients and then the remaining cheese. Bake at 450 till the top is bubbly and golden. Serve topped with red chilli flakes if you wish.

________________

(It’s Indi again) So there you have it folks. I hope you give this recipe a try. It’s perfect for me right now – I have almost a full jar of salsa in the fridge and have sworn off tortilla chips for a while – so you’ll see the pics of my attempts soon.

Thanks to Sarah for posting, and take a minute and check out her blog. I’ll be taking it over next Tuesday with a pizza recipe of mine!