Chicken Pizza

We had this fabulous pizza for dinner last night and everyone loved it. Hubby's friends were at home for dinner and even they gave it full marks. The recipe is from Eat Laugh Love, my partner for Taste and Create for the month of March. I know its a bit too late to be posting this but I didn't want to miss it.

I had made a similar pizza for the previous taste and create but the BBQ sauce was different from this recipe. I couldn't find liquid smoke and made a few changes in the sauce. Some great bad luck befell me and I added two teaspoons salt in the sauce thinking it was sugar (a mistake many people have done in my house as my salt and sugar containers are very similar and kept next to each other, LOL!). To rectify, I added some more tomato sauce and a whole lot of sugar. The end result was a very yummy sauce and I am glad I have frozen the rest of it for the future.

The Pizza dough is good and rises well. I mixed the whole thing by hand and kept it in the oven (switched off) to rise for one hour as I had time to spare.

Recipe Source - Eat Laugh Love

Ingredients

For The Pizza Toppings

BBQ Sauce (Recipe Below)

Sliced Mushrooms

Green Peppers

Onions

Mozzarella Cheese

Chicken (Cooked and tossed in the BBQ sauce, Chopped to 1/2 Inch pieces)

Oregano

Coriander Leaves

For the Pizza Dough  - I got two crusts from this dough as I doubled the recipe.

2 Cups Whole-wheat Flour

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

4 1/2 Tsp Quick Rising Yeast (I used instant yeast)

2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sugar

1 1/2 Cup Hot Water (120-130°F)

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the Sauce

1 Cup Tomato Sauce - I used 2 Cups

3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 Cup Finely Minced Onions

3 Garlic Cloves (Minced)

1 Tsp Chili Powder - I used two tsp.

1 Tsp Paprika - Omitted 

1 Tbsp Vinegar

1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke - Omitted

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

1/2 Tsp Cumin - I used cumin powder

4 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Oregano

1 Tsp Basil

Make The Dough

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the hot water and olive oil and knead till the dough comes together and forms a soft ball. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add more water if required.

2. Slightly oil the bottom and sides of the bowl. Roll the dough into a ball and swirl in the bowl to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and keep aside to rise if using regular yeast.

3. If using rapid rise, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.

Make The Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and saute till translucent. Add all the other ingredients and bring to boil. Cool sauce.

Top the Pizza and Bake

Preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired (about a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes, or as directed by your recipe.

Happy Eating!!

Tangy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza!!! Aah, the universal food that is so popular among all age groups. I mean who doesn't love pizza right? What? There are some people who don't like it?Hmm, maybe they need to eat a good home made pizza with all the deliciousness piled high. It had been so long since I had made pizza at home, that when I saw this recipe at the Low Fat Chick website I decided to try it out for this months Taste and Create.

The sauce is a lovely combination of sweet and tangy and comes together so easily. Usually while making pizza sauce there is so much stirring that I often resort to the bottled stuff to save time. But this time I just had to mix the stuff and let it simmer. Yum Yum! For the toppings I added a few more things than the original recipe like tomatoes and capsicum (green bell peppers) for a little tandoori feel. For the base I used the ready pizza base that is available in the freezer section of the grocery. You can use your own home made dough, I have given the Pioneer Woman's recipe below which I have made before and is great.

Recipe Source - Slightly Adapted from The Low Fat Chick

Ingredients

2 (6 Inch) Pizza Base

For The Sauce

1/2 Cup Grape Vinegar

1/4 Cup And 2 Tbsp Ketchup

2 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Garlic Clove (Pressed or Finely Minced)

1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

For The Toppings - Quantities As Per Personal Preference

Cooked Shredded Chicken

Red Onion (Thinly Sliced)

Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded)
Diced Tomatoes

Diced Capsicum

Olives

Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

1. Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan. Stir till all ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to slightly cool.

2. Preheat oven to 180 Degree C (350 Degree F).

3. Place the pizza base on a baking sheet covered with foil.

4. Spread the sauce on the dough. Layer with cheese, chicken, tomatoes, capsicum, onion and little more cheese. Sprinkle some coriander and place in the oven.

5. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted on top.

6. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

Recipe for Homemade Pizza Base (Source - The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

1 Tsp Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
1 1/2 Cup Warm Water
4 Cups All-purpose Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1/3 Cups Olive Oil

1. Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.

2. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

3. Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it.

4. To use, lighlty flour a baking sheet or pizza stone and place dough in the middle. Strecth the dough to the corners and top as desired (Dough will be slightly sticky).

***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

***Makes 2 big crusts.

Happy Eating!!