Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Thai Chili Pizza (aka the Cilantro Problem)


Some people think cilantro tastes like soap, but that is not that problem to which the above title is referring.  Nope, this is the Cilantro Problem:


On the upper right is the two teaspoons I needed for my cilantro-lime rice; on the left are the leafy leftovers.  I have no plans to open up a Mexican cantina in my future, so why would I ever need that much cilantro, Whole Foods?  I might as well wrap a ribbon around the stems and walk down the aisle again with an herb bouquet.

This Problema del Cilantro extends to all fresh herbs (bay leaves, anyone?) and menaces all my herb-garden-handicapped brethren.  But I charged forward against this recent cilantro invasion with an army of online recipe resources behind me.  My four star general turned out to be this recipe for Thai Chicken Pizza at TastyKitchen.com, which I adapted it to make it veg-friendly.

1 whole Batch Of Your Favorite Pizza Dough
1/2 cups Sweet Asian Chili Sauce
1 whole Onion, Thinly Sliced
1/2 whole Zucchini, Thinly Sliced
1 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
1/4 cups Chopped Peanuts
2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F with a pizza stone in the oven. If you do not have a pizza stone, put a large baking sheet in the oven (make sure to use one that is large enough to house your dough).

Begin by adding some flour to your rolling surface. Take your dough that has already risen, and lightly knead it. Roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thick, or however your like the thickness of your crust.

Spread the Asian chili sauce on the surface of the dough. Not too thick, not too thin. Add the sliced onions and zucchini. Top with the red chili flakes.

Place the pizza into the oven on your cooking surface (stone or pan) and cook for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on your crust and toppings so they do not burn. Every oven is different.

Once the pizza dough is golden around the edges, remove pizza from the oven.

Drizzle more of the Asian chili sauce over the top, top with the crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro.

1 comment:

bridgetwhoplaysfrenchhorn said...

Cilantro pesto! :) (freezes well, just puree with nuts and olive oil!)