Recipe for masa crust pizza made a cast iron skillet and topped with corn, tepary beans, zucchini, fresh tomatoes and goat cheese.
Corn, beans and squash (The Three Sisters) are three of the earliest crops grown by Native Americans in the Sonoran region. For this recipe masa is pressed into a cast iron skillet for the crust. If you’ve never tried tepary beans, this recipe is an excellent way to experiment with them, but you can substitute black beans instead if you want.
The recipe first appeared in Tucson Lifestyle Magazine and also features in my Taste of Tucson Cookbook.
Servings: 2
Recipe for Three Sisters pizza with a crust made from gluten-free masa pizza dough pressed into a cast iron skillet and topped with corn, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, goat cheese and tepary beans. Substitute black beans if you can't get tepary beans. The cast iron skillet generates the bottom heat that creates a crispy crust. A regular baking sheet will not achieve the same result.
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 2 cups warm water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup prepared pizza sauce
- ¼ cup sliced baby zucchini
- ¼ cup roasted corn kernels I used Trader Joe's
- ½ cup goat cheese crumbles
- Smoked garlic chipotle seasoning or substitute garlic powder and dried chipotle powder, to taste
- ½ cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup prepared tepary beans
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Stir the salt into the warm water until dissolved. Measure the masa harina into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour half of the water into the well and kneed in the masa. Keep kneading and adding water until the dough is slightly sticky and has the consistency of pizza dough. Form into a ball and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel.
- Rub a 9-10" cast iron skillet with the olive oil. Press the masa dough into the pan and up the sides to form a thin layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes on the lower rack.
Remove from oven and top with the pizza sauce cheese, corn, and squash. Sprinkle with the garlic chipotle seasoning. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
To serve top pizza with cherry tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and tepary beans. Slice and serve.
Notes
Why does the recipe use a cast iron skillet? Cast iron retains and distributes heat more evenly than other pans and gets hotter than a standard baking sheet. This is what creates the crispy, slightly charred bottom crust that makes this pizza work. A 9 to 10 inch cast iron skillet is ideal. If you don't have cast iron a heavy stainless steel pan will work but the crust won't be quite as crispy.
What are tepary beans and can I substitute them? Tepary beans are a native Sonoran Desert legume with a nutty, earthy flavor that's significantly more complex than pinto or black beans. They're the traditional choice here and worth seeking out. Rancho Gordo and Native Seeds/SEARCH in Tucson both carry them. Black beans or pinto beans make a perfectly good substitute if you can't find tepary beans.
Hungry for More? Buy the Unofficial Elf Cookbook, The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook and the Taste of Tucson Cookbook!
