When I was little, I loved the crispy and totally ethnically contentious Taco Bell Mexican pizza. I was feeling nostalgic and made a batch for my friends one night. It was simply enough to figure out: crispy tortillas, a savory bean spread, cheese and hot sauce. However, a lightbulb went off when I realized I would have leftovers. Has anyone ever tried to put an egg in the middle? Like an egg in a hole...Mexican pizza? I'm happy to present my DIY M-egg-xican Pizza!
| For the tortillas: | |
| You need two fajita sized flour tortillas per serving. | |
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use a cookie cutter to make a 1.5" circle from the middle of each tortilla. Since I didn't have one big enough, I used a small circle to cut 5 overlapping ones, which is why the hole looks like a flower. Don't ask questions, it just happened this way.
Place the tortillas on the oven grates for 5 minutes. Flip them over and turn the oven off, be careful that they don't get too crispy. You want them to be firm, but not like a cracker. Keep them in the oven until you are ready to assemble.
| For the ground beef (or...whatever vegetarian protein you like to pretend is food....): | |
| 1 raw hamburger patty (It's about the same amount as 1.5 vegetarian Italian sausages.) |
1/4 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of cumin 1/2 tsp of chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder |
Crumble and saute whatever protein you chose with the seasonings. I don't use any fat to cook the beef but I sometimes add a splash of water to make it saucy and scrape some of the flavors from the pan.
| For the black beans: | |
| You can either use a ready-made can of beans OR make them from scratch! 1 pint of dry black beans 1 quart of water 1 pint of broth |
Any leftover pickle juice 4 oz of cream cheese 1/2 cup of milk |
Soak the beans overnight. Add enough water to allow them to double in size. Once they've been reconstituted, discard the soaking water and rinse the beans before throwing them into a pot. Cover with a jar of leftover pickle juice and the broth (or whey if you make labneh!). Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer, covered until the beans are tender. Maybe it might take 4 hours. I have no idea, I was playing Skyrim: Dragonborn.
Once the beans are cooked (bite but not mealy mouthfeel), drain them (save the liquid for soup maybe!). Blend with an immersion blender or food processor with the cream cheese, milk and any leftover broth if it has a difficult time mixing. It should be smooth, purple-y and spreadable like thick peanut butter.
| To assemble: | |
| From the above-- Your prepared tortillas Black bean spread Taco Bell-esque seasoned protein PLUS-- Hot sauce of your choice. *If you're a wuss, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste thinned out with 2 table spoons of water would do fine. |
A bag of trashy shredded cheese (OR fine, be a purist and grate it yourself) Butter An egg for each serving Frying pan Lipped sheet pan |
Remove your tortillas from the oven and turn the oven back on to its lowest setting. Spread black beans carefully on one tortilla, making sure not to block the hole you made. Place it in a pan and turn the fire to medium. Put a pat of butter into the hole. Sprinkle a little cheese over the beans, your protein (not pictured, btw) and top with another tortilla.. Sprinkle hot sauce over the 2nd tortilla and finish it with more shredded cheese. As the butter is sizzling, crack an egg into the middle of the tortilla. When the egg whites have spread out as far as they will go, carefully use a spatula to move the whole thing to a sheet pan. Put the pan in the oven to finish the egg and ready the next tortilla if you are cooking more.
When you take the pizza out of the oven, you want the cheese to be melted, the egg a little under but custardy. Be careful not to burn the underside! Slice it into quarters and enjoy!
What other fast food hacks do you want to see? Let me know by tweeting to @Randwiches.