Cinco Quesos Pizza with Soy Chorizo
This is October and that means it’s National Pizza Month. I have no idea who created National Pizza Month, but they should receive a trophy or something.
Here is a recipe inspired by my Mexican roots and that my boys love. I’ve included instructions for creating your own pizza dough from scratch, but you can also get dough ready-made for the oven or even a pre-cooked dough at the store.
I find making dough very satisfying, even therapeutic, so I added a few tips to help you if you’re new at it and want to do it from scratch.
This pizza contains no meat and features 5 different Cacique® cheeses and Cacique® Soy Chorizo. It is delicious.
Note: Click the ‘Products‘ tab above to learn more about the Cacique® ingredients used in this recipe. You can find these ingredients near you by clicking the ‘Find Stores‘ tab, selecting the products you are looking for, and entering your zip code.
WHAT YOU NEED
- 2 1/2 cups flour for the recipe plus more for dusting surfaces.
- 1 cup water heated to 120 degrees
- 1 - 3/4 oz (21 gr) envelope rapid rise yeast
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil for the recipe, plus more for cooking chorizo and for oiling a pan and a bowl.
- Cornmeal
- 1 (6oz) can Tomato Paste
- 1 bag Cacique® Four Quesos Blend (Manchego, Oaxaca, Quesadilla, Asadero)
- 1 (10 oz) Ranchero® Queso Fresco
- 1 Cacique® Soy Chorizo
- Sprigs of Cilantro for garnish
- pizza pan, rolling pin, plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Combine flour, yeast, salt and oil into a large bowl. Add water, warmed to about 120 degrees, and mix it all together with a spoon or spatula until all the ingredients are combined and the dough looks ragged.
- Then knead the dough right in the bowl for 4-6 minutes until it is silky and smooth. I like to do it with one hand so I have one hand free. If it gets too sticky while kneading, just dust it with a little more flour as you work.
- When it looks smooth and silky, drizzle a little olive oil in a separate bowl that is large enough for the dough as it doubles in size. Place your dough in the bowl and then flip the dough over to coat all surfaces with oil. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise.
- When the dough doubles in size (about 35 min), on a lightly floured surface, punch the dough down and roll it out. We used a wine bottle to roll it out, since we didn’t have a rolling pin. If your dough doesn't want to stay spread out when you roll it, just let it rest for about 5 min, then roll it out to the size you need.
- Cover your pan with aluminum foil, oil the foil, and then dust with cornmeal. Place your rolled out dough on your pan and pierce it in multiple locations with a fork to reduce large bubbles when baking.
- Place pizza dough in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 min or until just lightly browned.
- While the dough is baking, heat up a little olive oil in a pan and cook the Cacique® Soy Chorizo on medium high heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Remove pizza dough from oven, and spread tomato paste over it, spread the cooked Cacique® Soy Chorizo and the Cacique® Four Quesos blend over dough.
- Then put the pizza back in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and garnish with Ranchero® Queso Fresco and cilantro.
