Catfish Out of Water

I've been in an enchiladas mood lately. The other day I made Enchiladas w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes. I tend to make recipes like this in fairly large quantities so that I have extra ingredients. It's a lot of work to make such a big dish, so I'll make a couple at a time over the course of a couple of days. That way I don't have to do all of it at once and I have components of the dish throughout the rest of the week. Hence, how I ended up with enough leftovers to make Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes.

After the enchiladas, I have Slow Cooker Pinto Beans w/ Habaneros & Garlic, Mexican Rice w/ Flaming Jade & Mariachi Peppers, Crema w/ Sour Cream, Heavy Whipping Cream, & Lime, and Sautéed Potatoes w/ Cumin & Coriander. Sure, I could make some more enchiladas and I turn absolutely anything and everything into burritos, nachos, and mix in with scrambled eggs. Although I'm feeling like making something a little bit more fun than my usual! And just about everything goes well on pizza.

Mexican-style pizzas are one of my favorites. Refried beans work well as a sauce, rice goes incredibly well on pizza (especially on gluten free crust, if you want an alternative), and then any toppings of choice. I used potatoes, crema, and Oaxaca cheese (instead of mozzarella, although you can add queso fresco, fresh mozzarella, or any cheese of choice). Homemade pizza is a great way to mix and match your own favorite toppings or to utilize what you already have on hand.

Gallery

Variations of Mexican Rice Pizza

Pizza is one of my favorite things to make. It's surprisingly simpler to make at home than it looks. There's a plethora of different types of doughs and cooking styles for everyone. It's also a great dish to make a couple of different batches with. Most pizza dough recipes are going to make 2 or 3 crusts, which gives you a great opportunity to make a couple of different versions without much more effort. I particularly like to make pizza for potlucks and let everyone pick their own toppings. It's a lot of fun when everyone also brings in a topping or two for the group. This also works well for groups with mixed eating habits and restrictions. It's something almost everyone can eat without having ingredients cross-contaminate.

Deep Dish Pizza w/ Mashed Potatoes, Tomatoes, & Fresh Mozzarella

Barbecue Pizza w/ Spinach, Tomatoes, & Fresh Mozzarella

Pizza w/ Refried Beans, Wild Rice, Apples, & Crema

Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes

This Latin American-inspired Refried Beans Pizza consists of habanero refried beans, flaming jade and mariachi pepper Mexican rice, potatoes, fresh mozzarella, and crema.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Latin American, Mexican

Servings 3 servings

Equipment

• Oven (or Barbecue)
• Griddle (optional)

Ingredients

  

Pizza Dough

• 320 ml. warm water ~100°F (1⅓ c.)
• 7 g. instant yeast (2 ¼ tsp. or 1 package)
• 13 g. honey (or 1 tbsp. granulated sugar, maple syrup, or brown sugar)
• 450 g. all-purpose flour (3½ + 1 tbsp.)
• 30 ml. olive oil (2 tbsp.)
• 6 g. salt (1 tsp.)

Refried Beans

• 5 habaneros minced
• 1/4 yellow onion minced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 lbs. pinto beans ~2 c.
• 5 c. water

Mexican Rice

• 2 flaming jade peppers diced
• 2 mariachi peppers diced
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1/4 yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 bay leaves
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 c. long grain white rice
• 2 c. water or vegetable broth

Sautéed Potatoes

• 1 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes diced
• splash olive oil (~1 tbsp.)
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash smoked paprika

Crema

• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1 lime juiced

Pizza

• 1/2 pizza dough
• 1/3 c. refried beans
• 1/3 c. Mexican rice
• 1 c. sautéed potatoes
• 8 oz. Oaxaca cheese (or mozzarella)
• 2 tbsp. crema

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• I used a Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour recipe. It takes about 30 minutes to make and 10 minutes to grill. Just make sure to plan in 6 hours of proof time. Otherwise, you can make the dough up to 2 days ahead of time and slowly proof in the refrigerator.
• Cook Slow Cooker Pinto Beans w/ Habaneros & Garlic. I like this recipe better than opening a can of refried beans or actually having to go through the process of frying them! This does require some forethought, though, and takes 8 hours in a crock pot.
• Mexican Rice w/ Flaming Jade & Mariachi Peppers. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
• I also used Crema w/ Sour Cream, Heavy Whipping Cream, & Lime. This takes about 5 minutes of active preparation and then a couple of hours of sitting on the countertop. It's easy to substitute sour cream or Greek yogurt. Although it is also the simplest part of this dish and is absolutely worth it for just being sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and lime juice!
• Sautéed Potatoes w/ Cumin & Coriander take about a half hour to toss together. I'd highly recommend a cast iron skillet with a lid. You can mix and match the flavor profile, though, and add peppers, if you like.

Cook Pizza

• Preheat the barbecue to medium-high heat.

  Alternatively, you can do what I did today and cook the pizzas on a griddle in the oven. Preheat the griddle in the oven at 550 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour a large, flat surface and roll out each dough until roughly 1/4-inch thick.

  It can help to let the dough proof for another 15 minutes. Although this is entirely optional. It will make a fluffier, rather than a crispier crust. If you want something more like a flatbread pizza, cook immediately. You can even spritz it with a little bit of oil for a little extra crunch.
• Carefully pick up the dough and drop it onto the grill or griddle. Grill until the dough just begins to char and grill lines begin to form. This takes about 1-2 minutes on the barbecue and 3-5 minutes in the oven.
• Spread sauce across the pizza. Sprinkle with additional toppings, cheese, and crema.
• Return to the oven and cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown.

  Since the crust has already been cooked slightly, make sure that it doesn't burn on the bottom before the cheese melts. If there is any doubt, look to the crust to determine doneness.
• Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper and serve immediately.