During London’s heat wave I had a serious Mexican food craving to the point where I would consider going the long way home so that I could stop by Wahaca’s pop up Southbank Experience and grab one of their amazing pulled pork burritos. I had some left over spicy tomato sauce in the freezer so decided to whip up some taco inspired pizzas.
You can keep the dough in a well sealed freezer bag in the fridge for 24 hours or freezer for up to 3 months (defrost in the fridge overnight) and any left over tomato sauce can also be frozen.
Makes 2 thin 25-30cm bases or 2 deeper 18-23cm bases Ingredients For the base 7g packet of dried active yeast 1 tbsp sugar 30ml olive oil 1 tsp sea salt 300g white spelt or plain flour For the spicy tomato sauce 1 tbsp olive oil 1 clove garlic ½ a small onion, peeled and finely chopped ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional) ½ tsp dried oregano 400g tinned chopped tomatoes 35ml red wine (optional) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp sugar (if the tomatoes are too acidic) For the spicy beef and pizza toppings 250g lean minced beef ½ packet taco seasoning ½ a small onion, chopped into small chunks 1 red or green pepper, chopped into small chunks 250g grated mozzarella cheese oregano and black pepper to season
Pour 180ml warm water into a large bowl and sprinkle over the yeast and sugar. Stand for 5-15 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy.
Whisk the oil and salt into the yeast mixture then sift in the flour. Mix to form a sticky dough. Transfer the ball of dough to an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside in a warm, draft free place for approx 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
Begin making the tomato sauce by heating the oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until soft. Stir in the dried chilli and oregano and fry until you can smell the aromatics. Add the tomatoes and wine to the pan and bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce is thicker. Season with salt and black pepper and sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic then leave to cool in the pan.
Next, brown the mince in a hot saute pan with some oil, the taco seasoning and any water required on the seasoning packet until completed cooked through. Set aside and preheat the oven to 230c or gas mark 8.
Once the dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead for a couple of minutes, divide into two and flatten out into rounds on floured baking sheets.
Spread a few tablespoons of your tomato sauce to cover the pizza bases and then scatter over the seasoned taco mince, onions and peppers. Finally scatter over the mozzarella and season with a sprinkle of black pepper and oregano. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bases are golden brown.
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