I love pizza and I LOVE nachos so tonight I decided to combine these two culinary delights into one delicious meal: Mexican Pizza!  I made up the recipe as I went along and, after sinking his teeth into the first sausage-y, cheesy, tomato-y bite, Matt declared that this pizza was my best-ever made up recipe of all time!

The ingredients are simple: pizza dough, cheese, and your favorite nacho or taco toppings.  I used fire-roasted corn, beans, red onions, green onions, jalapeños (from our garden), cherry tomatoes (also from the garden!), and sausage that was crumbled and cooked with a bit of taco seasoning.  The sausage that we had on hand was actually bratwurst which obviously isn’t the most Mexican of sausages but it ended up tasting just fine.  If I was going to plan for making this again I’d try some nice fresh chorizo sausage instead.  Yum!

Annie’s Mexican Pizza – a The Little GSP original!

You will need…
1/4-1/2 cup Corn (I used frozen corn)
1-2 Jalapeño Peppers, sliced into thin rounds
2 Fresh Sausages, casings removed and roughly chopped/crumbled (I’d recommend Chorizo or Italian Sausage)
1-2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning (optional; good if you’re using a mild sausage like bratwurst!)
1 package fresh Pizza Dough
1/4 cup Red Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Black Beans, rinsed and drained (about a quarter of a 15 oz. can)
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes, halfed
2-3 handfuls shredded Mozzarella
1-2 handfuls shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
Sliced Green Onions, to garnish
Cholula Hot Sauce, to taste
Sour Cream, to taste

Directions:
Heat a skillet (I used my wok) over medium high heat and add the frozen corn.  Allow the corn to thaw and then dry roast in the pan for approx. 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the corn is starting to blacken slightly.  Transfer the roasted corn to a bowl and set aside.  Put the sliced jalapeños into the hot skillet and roast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pepper slices start to soften.  Transfer the jalapeños to a bowl and set aside.

Add the crumbled sausage to the hot skillet and spread it out in one layer on the bottom of the pan.  Allow to brown for 2-3 minutes, then stir the sausage frequently until browned and fully cooked.  If using a mild sausage (or if you want an extra kick), stir in the taco seasoning.  Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500°F and, if you’re using one, allow your pizza stone to heat up in the oven.  Prep the pizza dough according to the package instructions.  I used a package of fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and made a 12-14″ pizza on our new pizza peel.  I used flour to keep the pizza from sticking to my hands and stretched it out in all directions without over-handling it.  If you are making two pizzas and/or don’t have a peel, just split up the dough and shape it to fit on a greased cookie sheet.  (For more information on how I stretch pizza dough, check out my Homemade TBM Pizza recipe.)

Now here’s the fun part… building your Mexican pizza!  I started with a sparse sprinkling of red onion followed by a bit of Mozzarella, a scattering of black beans and a generous helping of roasted corn.  Then I added a thin, even layer of Mozzarella over the whole pizza before spreading all of the crumbled sausage onto the pie.  After a final sprinkling of Mozzarella I added on the cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, and a few more bits of red onion.  Finally, I topped off the pizza with a little shredded Mexican Cheese Blend to give it some nice color.

Bake your Mexican Pizza in the 500°F oven for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is puffed and fully cooked.  If using a pizza stone, you’ll have to transfer the uncooked pizza from the pizza peel onto the hot stone in the oven (a skill that we’re still working on!) and then slide the fully cooked pizza back on the peel to be cut.  Sprinkle the chopped green onion over the top of the pizza, slice the pizza, and serve with hot sauce and sour cream.  Enjoy!