Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux

The fabulous thing about home-made pizza dough is that once you have all the elements (cheese, beans, salad fix-ins) it becomes the quickest dinner ever!  Heat your oven up nice and hot, roll out the dough, spread out the toppings and dinner is done in twenty minutes.  Boom.

This version has some extra elements of awesomeness with the addition of Haystack Mt. chile jack cheese (a tangy, spicy goat jack that's well worth the high cost!) and some fresh chorizo sausage from Marczyk's.  The only difference between this salad and last night's is that it's heavier on the lettuce and gains an extra depth of flavor from grilled garlic scapes and grilled corn.  It's a little more refined and quite delicious!

Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux
serves 4

Pizza:
1/2 batch fresh pizza dough (or one large store-bought pizza crust)
2 fresh chorizo sausages
2 cups refried beans (homemade is preferable)
1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled
1/2 cup Haystack Mt. Chile Jack cheese, shredded

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1 bunch breakfast radishes (about 8-10 very small radishes), thinly sliced
1 red pepper, grilled and chopped
1 green pepper, grilled and chopped
2 ears of corn, shucked and grilled
1 garlic scape, grilled and sliced
1 avocado
juice of 4-6 limes
2-3 T champagne vinegar (or other white vinegar)
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large pan over medium-high.  Remove chorizo from casings and add in small pieces to the hot pan.  Fry until lightly browned and cooked through, about ten minutes.  Remove chorizo with a slotted spoon and reserve fat.

Place a baking stone into the oven and heat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, roll out your fresh pizza dough on a lightly floured surface until crust is about 1/4-inch thick.  Slide dough onto a large, lightly-floured cutting board.  Brush the crust with chorizo fat and spread on the beans in an even layer.  Top with queso fresco and chile jack and finish with chorizo pieces.  Slide pizza from the cutting board onto the baking stone in the oven and cook until crust is crisp and lightly browned, about 8-11 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, then slice.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad.  Slice corn kernals off the cob.  In a large bowl, combine romaine, radishes, corn, garlic scape, and peppers.  In a blender, combine the avocado with lime juice and blend.  Add just enough vinegar to loosen the dressing (it will be very thick).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss salad with about 5 T of the dressing.  Serve salad alongside the pizza.

Refried Bean Pizza with Romaine, Radish and Pepper Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette

When I have a day off and nothing planned I almost always seize the opportunity to make something tasty that takes just a little extra time.  Making things from scratch isn't always realistic in our busy, day-to-day lives but it's always well worth the effort.  So today I made fresh, whole-wheat pizza dough and slow-cooked and refried beans. 

You don't have to take the time to make pizza dough from scratch (although if you have a standing mixer it's a snap to put together) but I would highly recommend making your own refried beans as opposed to using the canned ones.  Not only is the flavor and texture infinitely better but most of the time that it takes to make them is inactive, anyway.  I like to freshen up homemade pizza by topping it with a light, chopped salad.  In this case, using the bright cilantro, crisp and flavorful romaine lettuce and the spicy, crunchy radishes we received from our Grant Family Farms CSA as well as some grilled peppers.  The dressing is as simple as can be - just an avocado blended with lime juice and vinegar. 

If you are serving a crowd, this recipe can easily be doubled so you can make two pizzas.  You are already making enough beans and pizza dough (most pizza dough recipes yield enough for two pizzas) and even dressing.  Just double the amount of lettuce, radishes and peppers you use and you've got enough food for about 6-8 people.  If you want to make this vegetarian, simply replace the bacon fat with more canola oil.  I, however, couldn't resist using the bacon fat!  It adds a rich and homey flavor to the beans and provides a hearty base for this wholesome and tasty dish.

Refried Bean Pizza with Romaine, Radish and Pepper Salad 
with Avocado Vinaigrette
serves 4

Refried Beans:
1 lb. dried pintos or black beans
vegetable bouillion
1 T bacon fat
1 T canola oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp mexican oregano
pinch of cayenne
pinch of cinnamon
salt and pepper, to taste

Pizza:
1/2 batch fresh pizza dough (or one large store-bought pizza crust)
olive oil, for brushing
2 cups refried beans
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled

Salad:
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1 bunch breakfast radishes (about 8-10 very small radishes), thinly sliced
1 red pepper, grilled and chopped
1 green pepper, grilled and chopped
1 avocado
juice of 4-6 limes
2-3 T champagne vinegar (or other white vinegar)
salt and pepper, to taste

Cover beans with several inches of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add enough bouillion to flavor the water and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low, cover and allow beans to simmer until very tender and water is thickened, about 2 hours.

Once beans are tender, heat oils in a large pan over medium-high.  Add diced onions and cook until slightly browned, about 6 minutes.  Using a large slotted spoon, add about 1 cup of beans.  Fry until a light film coats the bottom of the pan, then add another cup of beans.  Continue to fry in batches until all the beans have been added (adding a little more canola oil, if necessary), then add enough of the bean broth to barely cover the beans.  Add remaining ingredients and reduce heat to medium-low and mash and stir the beans with a flat-ended wooden spoon until they reach a creamier consistency, about 10 more minutes (if beans get too dry, just add more bean broth until it reaches desired consistency.

Place a baking stone, if using, into the oven and heat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, roll out your fresh pizza dough on a lightly floured surface until crust is about 1/4-inch thick.  Slide dough onto a large, lightly-floured cutting board.  Brush lightly with olive oil then spread on the beans in an even layer.  Top with queso fresco.  Slide pizza from the cutting board onto the baking stone in the oven and cook until crust is crisp and lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, then slice.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad.  In a large bowl, combine romaine, radishes and peppers.  In a blender, combine the avocado with lime juice and blend.  Add just enough vinegar to loosen the dressing (it will be very thick).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss salad with about 3 T of the dressing.  Top pizza slices with a handful of salad and serve immediately. 

Mango, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Ancho-Mango Dressing

Ugh, another quinoa and black bean salad?!  Have no fear... although quinoa is a ridiculously healthy grain it does NOT have to taste awful - and I think this recipe can serve as proof!  My inspiration came, in part, from the sudden abundance of Haitian mangoes appearing at my nearest Whole Foods (and probably yours, too!). These mangoes are sweet, deliciously floral and are also Whole Trade certified. This recipe would work with just about any mango you can get your hands on - just make sure to buy one that's medium-ripe and one that's very ripe (one for dicing and one for blending).

Although this salad is by no means authentic, it makes excellent use of the fresh, vibrant flavors of Mexican cuisine. The sweet, mellow crunch of jicama lends a wonderful contrast to the soft, juicy mangoes and the ancho-infused quinoa and beans add a gentle, fragrant spice to the dish. The dressing is a luscious, thick concoction of ancho chiles and mangoes with lots of vibrant, bright-tasting cilantro and tangy lime juice. If you are like me and you like to dress your salads lightly, you can use the leftover dressing to marinate pork or fish, or you can add some chopped onions, jalapeno and diced mango to make a tasty salsa!

Mango, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Ancho-Mango Dressing

Serves 6

 

Mango, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad:

 

1 cup dried black beans
2 dried ancho chiles
1/2 cup red quinoa
a dash of chile powder
1 cup diced medium-ripe mango (1 large mango)
1 1/2 cup diced jicama
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup cilantro leaves, stems reserved for dressing
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

 

Ancho, Mango and Lime Dressing:

 

1 ripe mango
1/2 cup leftover cilantro stems, loosely packed
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons rehydrated ancho chile, seeds removed and chopped (use the chile from the beans or quinoa)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 small limes)
1/2 serrano pepper, minced (optional)
splash of tequila (optional)
salt to taste

 

In a medium pot, cover the black beans with several inches of water and add the dried chile. Bring to a boil, then simmer until beans are tender (about 1 1/2 hours, or 8-10 minutes in a pressure cooker). Drain the beans and remove the chile. Season with salt and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan cover the quinoa with 1 cup of water and add the other ancho chile. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and a dash of chile powder, fluff with a fork and allow to cool. 

 

Assemble the dressing: combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Combine the beans, quinoa and remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add desired amount of dressing (I used all but about 1/4 cup for a lightly-dressed salad) and toss well to combine.