Mexican Black Bean Pizza

Mexican Black Bean Pizza (slight adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 8, Total Time: 30 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 10 oz. package refrigerated pizza dough (the grocery store only had larger sizes, so I bought what they had)

·         1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

·         2 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley

·         2 Tbsp. salsa

·         1 tsp. ground cumin

·         ¼ tsp. bottled hot pepper sauce

·         2 cloves garlic, quartered

·         1 cups shredded taco cheese

·         ½ cup chopped red sweet pepper

·         ¼ cup sliced green onion (green and white parts)

·         ½ cup dairy fat-free sour cream

·         2 Tbsp. salsa

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.      Lightly grease an 11- to 13-inch pizza pan. Unroll pizza dough and transfer to greased pan, pressing dough out with your hands. Build up edges slightly. Prick generously with a fork. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
3.      Meanwhile, in a food processor bowl combine black beans, parsley, 2 tablespoons salsa, cumin, hot pepper sauce, and garlic. Cover and blend or process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides if necessary.
4.       Spread bean mixture over hot crust. Sprinkle with cheese, chopped red sweet pepper, and green onion. Bake about 10 minutes more or until cheese melts and pizza is heated through.
5.       In a small bowl combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa. Serve pizza with sour cream mixture.

The original recipe says that this makes 4 servings, but I found that one slice (out of eight cut) was filling enough. Overall, I liked the recipe, but it was slightly dry, I would have liked some more veggies, and I did not care for the sour cream/salsa mixture.  It is husband-approved, he even ate the leftovers!  On the health side, it does OK, with a good mix of carbs and protein.  If you have eight servings instead of four, it is also OK for calories.

The bean mixture taste is interesting – almost like canned refried black beans that I bought at Trader Joe’s before.  If I make this again, I will add more hot sauce and salsa.  I would like it slightly creamier and hotter.  I used only 1 cup of shredded cheese instead of the recommended 1.5 cups.  The red pepper stays crisp and the green onions add a little pop to the flavor.  Again, if I make it again, I’ll add some more veggies, maybe some more peppers or tomatoes. The sour cream/salsa mixture was actually really bland, neither my husband or I enjoyed it.  It added some moisture to the dish, but I think I’ll just use straight salsa on my leftovers.