[itissteve]

Tortilla Pizzas

Adapted from Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pépin, Copyright 2007 by Jacques Pépin.
Makes 3 pizzas, with 8 small servings per pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F.

2. Oil a tortilla for each pizza: sprinkle olive oil on a sturdy cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, and press each tortilla in the oil on the tray to coat them well on one side, and then turn them over, so they are oiled on the other side.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each oiled tortilla. Add 1 thinly sliced small tomato, a good sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper, and a good cup of grated mozzarella (about 4 ounces); buffalo or whole milk mozzarella is best, if you can get it.

4. Sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper, and top with about 1 tablespoon of good olive oil. You can cook the tortillas directly on the cookie sheet or directly on an oven stone.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and crisp. Let the pizzas rest out of the oven for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded basil (from about 12 leaves). Cut into 8 wedges, and serve.

Toppings can be your choice: pepperoni, prosciutto, ham, sausage, ground beef, bacon, a little red onion or bell pepper (or even hot peppers if you like), herbs, whatever. You're not stuck with using mozzarella, either; try Gruyere or Fontina (easy melting) or even Cheddar or Colby/Jack to put a North American slant on things.

[EDITED] Macros on this break down to roughly 450 calories, 39g of protein, 27g of fat, and about 5 carbs. All depends on what you put on top. Macros are for "plain cheese" pizza.

 

[etherea]

Thanks!

 

[fangirl]

Looks quick and easy - and delicious!

 

[itissteve]

fangirl, they are. This is great party food, except that you're in the kitchen so your guests kind of need to be, too. I prep two pizzas at a time so as soon as two come out to rest, two more go in to cook. I vary the toppings so if one has stuff people don't like, they don't have to wait but ten minutes or so for another pizza.

I'd recommend a side to go with them, too -- salad, veggies and dip, whatever.

 

[mbuster]

Are additional toppings put on initially? Does that influence the cooking time? Would making like a super supreme cause overcooking the crust?

We've made nachos using low carb wraps sliced up and toasted.

 

[itissteve]

Are additional toppings put on initially? Does that influence the cooking time? Would making like a super supreme cause overcooking the crust?

Most toppings can be put on before the pizza goes into the oven. I'd be careful about putting on, say, raw sausage or ground beef -- at least make it in pieces small enough to cook fully in 8-10 minutes. I've avoided that so far by using cured or pre-cooked meats.

I've put raw onions and garlic on before the oven; that's worked well. I've put herbs on after the pizza comes out of the oven; fresh basil or chives or even dried oregano for that time at that temp would just burn.

I would guess really stacking the tortilla would take longer to cook (really, you're just warming through and browning so the thicker the stack the longer that takes). I find that if I leave the pizza in the oven for the full 10 minutes in the recipe, though, the edges of the tortilla burn. You could make sure the cheese is spread out close to the edge of the tortilla to help prevent that from happening.

 

[fangirl]

fangirl, they are. This is great party food, except that you're in the kitchen so your guests kind of need to be, too.

This would also make a handy dandy snack for hungry grandkids!

 

[itissteve]

This would also make a handy dandy snack for hungry grandkids!

Indeed! Substitute plain ol' flour tortillas for them and you're off and running.

 

[Nemo]

Tortilla Pizzas

Adapted from Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pépin, Copyright 2007 by Jacques Pépin.
Makes 3 pizzas, with 8 small servings per pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F.

2. Oil a tortilla for each pizza: sprinkle olive oil on a sturdy cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, and press each tortilla in the oil on the tray to coat them well on one side, and then turn them over, so they are oiled on the other side.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each oiled tortilla. Add 1 thinly sliced small tomato, a good sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper, and a good cup of grated mozzarella (about 4 ounces); buffalo or whole milk mozzarella is best, if you can get it.

4. Sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper, and top with about 1 tablespoon of good olive oil. You can cook the tortillas directly on the cookie sheet or directly on an oven stone.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and crisp. Let the pizzas rest out of the oven for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded basil (from about 12 leaves). Cut into 8 wedges, and serve.

Toppings can be your choice: pepperoni, prosciutto, ham, sausage, ground beef, bacon, a little red onion or bell pepper (or even hot peppers if you like), herbs, whatever. You're not stuck with using mozzarella, either; try Gruyere or Fontina (easy melting) or even Cheddar or Colby/Jack to put a North American slant on things.

[EDITED] Macros on this break down to roughly 450 calories, 39g of protein, 27g of fat, and about 5 carbs. All depends on what you put on top. Macros are for "plain cheese" pizza.

I LOVE IT!

 

[Nemo]

Tortilla Pizzas

Adapted from Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook by Jacques Pépin, Copyright 2007 by Jacques Pépin.
Makes 3 pizzas, with 8 small servings per pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F.

2. Oil a tortilla for each pizza: sprinkle olive oil on a sturdy cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, and press each tortilla in the oil on the tray to coat them well on one side, and then turn them over, so they are oiled on the other side.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese on top of each oiled tortilla. Add 1 thinly sliced small tomato, a good sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper, and a good cup of grated mozzarella (about 4 ounces); buffalo or whole milk mozzarella is best, if you can get it.

4. Sprinkle on a little more salt and pepper, and top with about 1 tablespoon of good olive oil. You can cook the tortillas directly on the cookie sheet or directly on an oven stone.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and crisp. Let the pizzas rest out of the oven for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded basil (from about 12 leaves). Cut into 8 wedges, and serve.

Toppings can be your choice: pepperoni, prosciutto, ham, sausage, ground beef, bacon, a little red onion or bell pepper (or even hot peppers if you like), herbs, whatever. You're not stuck with using mozzarella, either; try Gruyere or Fontina (easy melting) or even Cheddar or Colby/Jack to put a North American slant on things.

[EDITED] Macros on this break down to roughly 450 calories, 39g of protein, 27g of fat, and about 5 carbs. All depends on what you put on top. Macros are for "plain cheese" pizza.

So are you saying with the tortillas are 5 carbs? Because there's really no carbs and cheese and the other things you put on top. I found some tortillas that were three carbs but I'd rather eat cardboard.

 

[itissteve]

Nemo, most of the carbs come from the tortilla and the tomato. I used a brand of tortilla called Mission Carb Balance. They claim 4 net carbs per tortilla. Note that they perform this magic through the use of modified wheat starch, which still affects blood glucose for some diabetics.

I'm no tortilla expert but these taste a lot like regular flour tortillas to me (and buried under a mound of tomato, cheese, and toppings, maybe even more so). I do make sure I use a small tomato, as they're deceptively high in sugars for a vegetable (yeah, I know, it's a fruit, etc. 🙂).

 

[itissteve]

I'll also throw in that a friend of mine made these in her air fryer, with mixed results. You really have to watch the outside edge of the tortilla to make sure it doesn't burn. And the middle of her tortilla was soggy; that may be because she didn't cook the pizza more than about five minutes (because the edges were starting to burn). Since I'm usually making a bunch of these at a time and our air fryer is kinda small, I use the regular oven and avoid that issue. If someone does make these with an air fryer, I'm interested in their results.

 

[Nemo]

Nemo, most of the carbs come from the tortilla and the tomato. I used a brand of tortilla called Mission Carb Balance. They claim 4 net carbs per tortilla. Note that they perform this magic through the use of modified wheat starch, which still affects blood glucose for some diabetics.

I'm no tortilla expert but these taste a lot like regular flour tortillas to me (and buried under a mound of tomato, cheese, and toppings, maybe even more so). I do make sure I use a small tomato, as they're deceptively high in sugars for a vegetable (yeah, I know, it's a fruit, etc. 🙂).

I have used those tortillas before and they taste good. But that 3 carb tortilla that's just not worth eating. I was wondering how they get away with four or five or even six carbs when it has a high amount of fiber in it. Are those really okay for a diabetic to eat or are they going to raise our blood glucose?

 

[itissteve]

Are those really okay for a diabetic to eat or are they going to raise our blood glucose?

That's the $64,000 question (man, am I dating myself...). I've seen reports (anecdotal, but reports) that even manipulated starches like that can affect BG, sometimes for more than the two hours we're used to. There's a certain pasta brand that is fairly well known for not showing increased BG in 1- or 2-hour tests but showing it in 3-hour tests (if someone actually takes one that late). On the other hand, I know at least a couple of members of this forum do okay with what's called "retrograded" starch: potatoes, macaroni, etc., that is cooked and then cooled; the cooling (and eating the food at a cooler temperature) apparently does something to the starch in the food and makes it have less of a glycemic effect.

It all comes down to testing. If modified food starch works for you, it's great stuff. If not, at least you know.

 

[Nemo]

I remember Dr. Ken Berry saying something about what they're doing to lower the carbs and I don't think it was good. But I don't remember what he said I'll have to search it. Oh by the way your recipe went into my notebook of recipes. It's kind of like oh! why didn't I think of this! Thanks a bunch.

 

[itissteve]

You're welcome, Nemo!

When I make these, people ask if I made the crust, too. (I'm not that ambitious cooking most days.) When I tell them it's a flour tortilla, it kinda blows their mind. So easy!

 

[etherea]

We made these earlier in the week. Even BH was impressed!