For the good part of my life, I never craved pizza. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but to me, it was an indulgent meal meant for pigging out days only. I know, I'm crazy. It wasn't until several years ago that I really started to appreciate dough topped with various toppings. Nowadays, I actually think about what pizza to make next - I even have a pizza stone. Today, I decided to mix it up a little and make a spicy vegetarian pizza. Here is my spicy chipotle Mexican pizza, possibly one of my best creations yet. It's spicy, it's a little sweet, and it's a whole lot of tasty.
Spicy Chipotle Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup warm water 100-110 degrees F
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon chipotle canned in adobo sauce
- 7 ounces pizza sauce
- 2 cups kale torn into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 corn shucked
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cotija
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Place pizza stone in middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Heat pizza stone for 1 hour. Alternatively, heat a baking sheet flipped upside down in oven for 10 minutes.
- Combine active dry yeast with granulated sugar and warm water in a large bowl. Stir to gently mix and let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add bread flour, olive oil, and salt. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare toppings. Blend together pizza sauce with chipotle. Set aside.
- Massage kale with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix corn with ½ teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
- Dust clean work counter with flour and using your hands, roll dough into 12-inch circle. If using a baking sheet, roll pizza dough on parchment paper dusted with cornmeal. Spread chipotle pizza sauce in an even layer. Tear mozzarella and scatter on top followed by kale, red onion, and corn. Carefully transfer pizza onto baking sheet or pizza stone and bake for 7-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and crust is golden brown. Sprinkle cotija on top, squeeze fresh lime juice and finish with lime zest. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Out of all the pizza recipes I've shared, I realized I haven't shared my basic pizza dough. Forgive me! The sourdough pizza dough is a great one but if you're looking for a standard recipe, this is my go-to one. Since it has a high amount of yeast, you only need to rest the dough for 15 minutes. Pizza dough that doesn't need to rest for 1 hour? Now that's what I'm talking about!
While the dough is resting, gather the rest of the ingredients. This spicy chipotle Mexican pizza is vegetarian but you can easily add any protein of your choice. Shrimp, chicken, sausage would all work beautifully.
Tear the kale into small pieces and massage with oil, salt, and pepper. Shuck the corn and season with chili powder, slice the red onion, and blend together pizza sauce with chipotle.
Now comes the fun part, making the pizza. I refrain from using a rolling pin to roll out the dough because I don't want to deflate any of the air bubbles. Instead, I use my hands to gently flatten and stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle. Press the dough from the center out, making the center thinner and the edges slighter thicker for the crust.
This recipe makes a fairly large pizza. You can also choose to make 2 smaller pizzas if it's easier to manage.
Top the pizza with the prepared toppings and bake for 7-8 or until the cheese is bubbling.
Finish the spicy chipotle Mexican pizza with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, lime zest, and cotija. I absolutely loved this pizza. It combines everything good in life: corn, spices, cheese, and bread. And since it's vegetarian, it's kind of healthy, right?
For more pizza inspiration check out this bacon and egg flatbread!
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