Catfish Out of Water

The other day I made Pizza w/ Pinto Beans, Mexican Rice, & Roasted Potatoes. It was one of those days where I was staring at all of my leftovers in the refrigerator and thinking to myself... I wonder if this would be good on pizza?? I do oftentimes follow this urge to see how things turn out. After all, how do you know whether it would be good or bad if you don't try it? It's like those mystery box challenges on cooking shows. Some of the best dishes come out of the weirdest restraints. This is how innovation happens, though. It's thinking that something might work and then testing it out. Plus, a Mexican food-style pizza isn't too far outside of the box. No one's entirely surprised that I'm making a pizza with refried beans, wild rice, and apples here.

Spoiler alerts aside, I liked the first pizza so much that, when I had Slow Cooker Pinto Beans, Black Rice, and Roasted SnapDragon Apple Cubes leftover from Salad w/ Salmon, Black Rice, & Roasted SnapDragon Apples? I knew that I was probably going to turn the leftovers into pizza (it's probably good that I didn't still have salmon leftover, though). So, I made a double batch of Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour and tossed the extra Crema that I also had leftover from Enchiladas.

SnapDragon Apples

I'm unsure whether Snap Dragon/Snapdragon has a space between it or not. I just went apple picking and the patch that I got them from wrote it both ways. Googling "snap dragon or snapdragon apple" gave me SnapDragon^®, which is neither of the ways that I was expecting. Although I also wasn't expecting this to come from snapdragoapple.com and its official partnership with the Buffalo Bills.

All I know is that I have a week to use a couple dozen apples. You can see all of the apples and recipes in this series in my full article on Apple Picking & What to Cook All Fall Season. And I think that I'm just going to go with SnapDragon, even though that still seems weird (in the process of writing the 5 recipes that have used these apples, I've changed all of the spelling 3 times and I am not going to do that again without very good reason!).

SnapDragons are a crisp apple that was developed in New York. They're a sweet Honeycrisp cross with a subtle tartness. They have a yellow base with a darker red hue throughout the rest of the apple. They're most known for being for being a crunchy and juicy apple that goes well as a nice crunch in salads and cheese plates.

Gallery

Variations of Black Rice Pizza

I've made three batches of pizza lately, so there are a multitude of topping recipes to choose from. You don't have to just toss your leftovers into them. Although, you can, if you want to! Pizza is a great dish to mix and match your own favorite toppings or whatever you have on hand. There are very few things that aren't good on top of a carb and drowned in cheese.

Pizza w/ Roasted Garlic, Avocado, & Fresh Mozzarella

Avocado, Spinach, Roasted Potatoes, & Fresh Mozzarella Pizza

Pizza w/ Roasted Kuri Squash, Apples, & Fresh Mozzarella

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

This Rice Pizza consists of homemade refried pinto beans, black rice w/ sweet potatoes, roasted apples, 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 American, Italian, Latin American

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• Large Bowl
• Oven
• Griddle (optional)
• Rolling Pin
• Pizza Peel (or Cutting Board)

Ingredients

  

Pizza Dough

• 472 ml. warm water ~100°F (2 c.)
• 7 g. instant yeast (2 ¼ tsp. or 1 package)
• 7 g. sugar (or 2 tsp. brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey)
• 625 g. all-purpose flour (5 c.)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

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

Black Rice

• 1 sweet potato diced
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 tsp. ginger minced (or liquid)
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash cloves
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1½ c. black rice
• 16 oz. coconut milk (1 can)
• 2 c. water (or vegetable broth)

Roasted Apples

• 1½ apples cubed (I used SnapDragon)
• splash olive oil (~1 tbsp.)
• dash cumin
• dash coriander
• dash cloves
• dash smoked paprika
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Crema

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

Pizza

• 1/4 pizza dough
• 1/3 c. refried beans
• 1/3 c. Mexican rice
• 1 c. roasted apples
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
• 1/4 c. crema

Instructions

 

Proof Dough

• Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let rest for 15 minutes, or until the yeast begins to bubble.
• Meanwhile, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl.
• After the yeast has proofed, stir yeast mixture into the flour. Mix until roughly incorporated and the dough has a shaggy appearance.
• Add in the olive oil and mix until all of the ingredients are combined.

  In a mixer with a dough hook attachment, this only takes a minute or two. By hand, this takes about 5 minutes. It's a no-knead bread recipe, so you're not necessarily looking for soft and pliable dough. Really, you just want all of the ingredients to be mixed thoroughly at this point! Which does make it a great recipe to make by hand if you prefer or don't have a mixer.
• Cover dough and let proof for 6 hours, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, place in the refrigerator for 1-3 days.

  A quick pizza dough proof can be done in about 6 hours. Ideally, the dough is made 2 days ahead of time and proofed in the refrigerator for that time. However, I almost never know that I'm going to make pizza 2 days ahead of time! And 6 hours is perfectly adequate.

Prepare Ingredients

• For the refried beans, add all of the ingredients to a crock pot. Slow cook on low for 8 hours. Drain or cook off any excess liquid and mash with a potato masher until smooth (or the desired consistency).
• For the rice, add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients, followed by the rice and water. Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Core the apples, slice, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes. Coat in olive oil and spices. Place evenly across a baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes. Make sure to stir or flip halfway through to get an even cook on all sides.
• For the crema, mix all of the ingredients together until smooth. Let sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours and then serve or refrigerate.

  The citrus in the lime juice will keep the crema from going bad. Just make sure to refrigerate it after a couple of hours. You're looking for it to be a little bit sour, but not spoiled because it will eventually go bad!

Cook Dough

• 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 quarters. 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.

Cook Pizzas

• Spread refried beans across the pizza. Then, top with wild rice and apples.
• Top with fresh mozzarella 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.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For more tips and tricks, I also have entire articles on the following ingredients:
  • Double Batch Pizza Dough w/ All-purpose Flour
  • Slow Cooker Pinto Beans w/ Habaneros & Garlic
  • Black Rice w/ Shallots & Sweet Potatoes
  • Roasted SnapDragon Apple Cubes
  • Crema w/ Sour Cream, Heavy Whipping Cream, & Lime