Monday, April 2, 2012 6:29 PM
Rob Kinnon
Good Eats at Home: Pizzettas Enfrijoladas
As many of our loyal "Life's a Beach" readers will know (because they also follow me on Facebook) Rob and I are in a "crazy vegetarian phase". We have eaten no beef, chicken or pork since New Years. The good news is, we have never looked or felt better. We have had no trouble at all finding great vegetarian dining-out options and, as you all know, good grains, fruits and veggies are practically free here in Mexico. The bad news is, it's a lot more work for me to put together tasty interesting meat-free meals night after night when we dine at home....which is most of the time. The challenge is not coming up with meatless meals. The challenge is coming up with meatless meals that are healthy and packed with important nutrients. Pasta and pizza are good for a night or two a week but I'm really trying to manage our intake of refined carbs and be more creative with the limited time I have.
One thing I always keep in the house is a bean dip of some kind. On Mondays, I whip up a big batch of hummus or black bean dip to keep in the fridge for snacks. Tonight, the black bean dip doubles as the sauce for a dish I'm going to call Pizzettas Enfrijoladas. They are super easy to make and can make use of whatever combination of veggies you like which is perfect for the kids. Rob likes his with the cheese and corn hot and the rest of the toppings raw. I pile everything on at once and shred a bit of spicy arugula on top when it comes out of the oven. These are also great to bring to parties as an hors d'oeuvre. Here's how we made ours last night.
Pizzettas Enfrijoladas
Flour Tortillas
Simple Black Bean Dip (recipe below)
Shredded Manchego Cheese - (or any kind you like)
Frozen Corn - thawed
Red Onion - thinly sliced
Zucchini - thinly sliced
Red Bell Pepper - thinly sliced
Scallions - thinly sliced
Arugula - torn
Simple Black Bean Dip
3 cups Black Beans - cooked
1 small can Salsa Casera
1 tsp. Cumin
Combine all in a Cuisinart or blender and process until smooth. In a sealed container, this will keep nicely in the fridge for a week and can easily be jazzed up with whatever you like.
For the Pizzettas: Turn on your broiler. Spread a generous layer of black bean dip on a tortilla. Top with a second tortilla. Distribute cheese on top of the second tortilla. Top with frozen corn and whatever veggies appeal to you. Arrange Pizzettas on a cookie sheet and broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are starting to crisp. Transfer to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly and cut into quarters. Allow at least 2 full Pizzettas per person. Serve with a nice green salad.
