As I believe I've mentioned that I made a New Year's resolution to myself to make at least one new recipe every week. This usually means that on Sunday, when I'm making up my weekly menu (yes, I actually do that), I end up flipping through one of my cookbooks for something that I haven't made before and that sounds intriguing. So recently, I was flipping through Better Homes and Garden 365 Vegetarian Meals and came across this recipe. I thought it sounded interesting, and worth a try. I ended up being happy with how it came out. I wasn't expecting couscous to go well with a Mexican-flavored salsa, but it did! This is a nice, light meal and great for summer. It has a couple components to it, so bear with me.
Recipe
Makes 4 servings
1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teapsoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour fat-free milk*
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 recipe Black Bean Salsa
Nonstick cooking spray
*To make 3/4 cup sour fat-free milk, place 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough fat-free milk to make 3/4 cup total liquid; stir. Let stand for 5 minutes before using.
1. In a medium bowl combine uncooked couscous, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl beat egg with a fork. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Stir buttermilk mixture into couscous mixture. Let stand for 20 minutes (batter will thicken as it stands).
2. Meanwhile, prepare Black Bean Salsa; set aside. Preheat oven to 200 degree F.
Black Bean Salsa: In a medium bowl stir together 3/4 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed; half of a 15-ounce can black beans (3/4 cup), rinsed and drained; 3/4 cup salsa; 1/2 cup chopped, peeled jicama; 1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon lime juice; and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.
3. Lightly coat an unheated griddle or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. For each cake, spoon 2 slightly rounded tablespoons of the couscous batter onto the hot griddle or into the skillet; quickly spread to 3 1/2-inch cakes. Cook about 4 minutes or until brown, turning once halfway through cooking or when bottoms are lightly brown and edges are slightly dry. Remove bean cakes from griddle or skillet. Keep warm in oven while cooking remaining cakes.
4. To serve, top couscous cakes with Black Bean Salsa.
So let me say first that I absolutely love Mexican food. Aside from the taste itself, Mexican food reminds me of college. At least every other Friday, my best friends and I would go to the Mexican restaurant in our college town, order margaritas and food and stay there for hours. It was heaven. Mexican food will always remind me of those times. And also, honestly, I just love the way it tastes. So I came across this recipe for Mexican pizza on A Couple Cooks and I knew I had to try it.
the recipe
Makes 2 10-inch pizzas
2 crusts pizza dough
1 can no-fat refried black beans (makes enough for around 4 pizzas)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 small red onion
1 tomato
1 jalapeno pepper
2 handfuls fresh cilantro
2 handfuls frozen corn
Mexican cheese blend
Kosher salt
1. Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the refried black beans with a bit of water to thin the consistency so that it is easily spreadable. Mix with 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.
3. Seed and dice the tomato. Finely chop the red onion. Chop the cilantro. Seed and dice the jalapeno.
4. When the toppings and oven are ready, shape the dough into a 10-inch round. Place the dough on a floured pizza peel or pull the pizza stone out of the oven and carefully place the dough on it.
5. Quickly assemble the pizza. Spread the bean mixture in a thin layer over the dough, sprinkle on as much cheese as you like, and add the red onion, tomato, jalapeno, corn, and cilantro. Sprinkle with kosher salt. If desired, brush a little olive oil on the crust to help it brown.
6. Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes.
substitutions
I had a couple for this one. Instead of pizza dough, I used pita bread. It works perfectly for a single sized pizza. I didn't have refried black beans so I just pureed whole black beans in a food processor. Worked fine. I did not use the jalapeno but I added green onions because I wanted to use them up. Instead of an actual Mexican cheese blend, I just mixed some cheddar and mozzarella together.
great with
This is a filling pizza, I think, so it stands well on its own.
the review
This is so yum. Seriously, I can't wait to make this again. It's easy to make and the combination of flavors was awesome. I love how this uses black beans as the "sauce" and I think the inclusion of the red onions gave it the perfect little kick without being overwhelming. Make this pizza, especially if you have a weird nostalgia thing with Mexican food, like I do. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
