Mexican Pizza with Tequila Shot Crust

We made this festive pizza to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. I intended to post it over the weekend . . . but we had guests, and a race (recap here), and you know how things go! I'm most proud of the crust. A boozy creation I made by modifying Stephen's Garbanzo Garlic Knots recipe.

It's almost the weekend again. Why not add this to your list of to-dos?

BLACK BEAN TEQUILA SHOT CRUST

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup warm water
• 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 to 2-1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• Pinch of salt
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Method . . .

1. Mix the yeast into the warm water and let sit until bubbly. About 5 minutes.
2. Puree black beans with 1/4 cup tequila and the lime juice. (Feel free to do a shot yourself for good measure.)
3. Mix the water/yeast with just 2/3 of the black bean puree and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Then make an indent in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients.
5. Mix together and then knead with your hands to form a smooth, elastic ball. You may need to add additional flour to make that happen.
6. Cover bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.
7. If you want to make a large pizza, spread all dough across a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside. Otherwise, divide into two balls and save one for a rainy day.

*** If you're not into tequila, you can substitute water. Much of the alcohol -- I'm not entirely sure how much, but at least 60 percent is what I've read -- bakes off, though.


CALABACITAS TOPPING

What you'll need . . .

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 or 4 large cloves garlic, roughly minced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 medium summer squash, diced
• 1/2 to 1 cup corn kernals
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon saffron

Method . . .

1. Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and green pepper cook for a couple minutes until onions are glassy.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cook until softened but still somewhat crisp (you'll be putting it in the oven after all!).
3. Set aside.

To put this pizza together, you'll first want to preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. You'll want to bake the crust for around 4 or 5 minutes at that heat and then turn it up to the broil setting while you place your toppings on the pizza.

Here's what else you need . . .

• Cheddar cheese
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Tomato sauce (for extra flavor, process it with some olive oil and fresh cilantro!)
• Chopped black olives

Then just spread your sauce, calabacitas, top with the mix of cheeses and then the olives. Broil until cheese is brown and bubbly. Then top liberally with avocado, slice, and enjoy. Can you believe Stephen and I ate this entire pizza in one sitting?

Yeah. We were definitely carbo-loading. And it sure paid off with our awesome race times last weekend. Who knows -- maybe the secret is in the pizza!

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