I was inspired to try out this recipe after coming across this taco pizza recipe via Pinterest, originally from Life as a Lofthouse. I changed up a few things on it, like making the pizza dough from scratch, disregarding the refried beans, and substituting the ground beef with ground turkey. In the end, I think my version is just a tad bit healthier, but B will attest that it was not lacking in flavor.
When I make pizza dough, I like to do it in the morning so that it has all day to proof. Because this dough is made with corn meal and has less gluten, it does not rise as much as normal dough, thus does not need to be made as far in advance.
For the dough, I used corn meal, whole wheat flour, and all purpose flour. I used honey instead of sugar to help the yeast proof (yeast looooooves sugar!) and also used a little oil to help everything stick together.
I mixed everything together with my stand mixer, then kneaded it a couple times on a flour-dusted cutting board before rolling it into a ball. I let it sit for about 15 minutes on the counter, then wrapped it in saran wrap and kept it in the fridge until I was ready to bake.
When we were ready to eat, I pressed out and flattened the dough so it was pretty thin. It will not bubble up like normal pizza dough, so if it is too thick, it will be chewy. Then I let it bake on a pizza stone for about 5 minutes before loading it up with toppings.
First, I topped it with salsa (our favorite from Walmart, oddly enough), then cheese, seasoned ground turkey, and a little more cheese. I popped it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, then at the end turned on the broiler for about 2 minutes to get the top all bubbly.
While it was baking, I snuck in a chip or two. Seriously, this salsa is delicious.
We could have stopped right here and just eaten it as is. Actually, If I make this pizza again, I would stop here, cut it, then after putting individual pieces on a plate top it with lettuce, tomato and avocado. We did not eat all 8 slices, and the lettuce and avocado did not refrigerate and reheat well.
Regardless, I topped the cooked pizza with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and avocado. Other toppings that would be great would be guacamole, sour cream, bell peppers, or black beans.
All in all, there are some revisions I would make to this recipe (like the when to add the lettuce, etc), but I will definitely be making this recipe again. B really enjoyed it and it was a bit different from our normal pizza recipes.
Recipe after the jump.
Ingredients
Dough:
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup room temperature water, plus extra as needed
2 tsp olive oil
Pizza:
1/4 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/4 lb (about 1 cup) ground turkey, cooked seasoned with 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 tomato diced
1/2 avocado diced
Directions:
1. In a bowl or cup, mix honey and 1/4 cup hot water together until honey is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top and let proof for 10 minutes or until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, add corn meal, flours, and salt. Add yeast and water mixture and olive oil and begin to mix together, add the rest of the water gradually, stopping once the dough just starts to form a ball. The dough should be just tacky to the touch. Add more flour if it gets too sticky, or more water if too dry.
3. Form dough into a ball and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. When ready, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Press dough out into a thin crust and place onto baking sheet or pizza stone then bake in oven for about 5 minutes.
6. Remove crust from oven, top with salsa, cheese, and turkey. Return to oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Just before taking out of the oven, broil the pizza for 2 minutes until cheese is bubbling and browning.
7. Top cooked pizza with lettuce, tomato, and avocado, or toppings of choice.
8. Cut, serve, and enjoy!