Pita Pizza: My “World Famous” Recipe

Okay, okay: this recipe isn’t WORLD famous, but it is my husband’s all time favorite dinner, which counts for something, right? Pita pizza is a super delicious, healthy alternative to doughy pizza and is totally versatile to what you have on hand, or what toppings you prefer. Last night, i went Hawaian.

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Great pita pizza starts with great pita, something that is surprisingly difficult to find. My favorite pitas have tended to be locally baked, big and airy pitas. In Austin, i loved Pheonicia pita, and in Australia i found the very BEST pitas that were HUGE and very low in calories. Stay away from “flatbread” as you’ll get burnt to a crisp crackers, not pizza and stay away from ‘pocket bread’ as that dry stuff just won’t cut it. You want to find a “pocketless” pita and you can store the leftovers in the freezer for future use.

You can top your pizzas with whatever you like, but be aware that things like mushrooms or peppers, or just too many ingredients on one pizza may make things go soggy. Some of my favorite ingredients are: black olives, jalapenos, pineapple, garlic cloves, mushrooms, tomato slices, fresh basil. Whatever you choose to top with, you need to start with delicious sauce, and i always make mine from ‘scratch’ using some tomato paste and other yummy things:

Pizza Sauce

• 1 small can tomato paste, i like Hunt’s – herb or plain
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Pinch dried herbs: basil, oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Dried cayenne or fresh hot pepper, finely minced
• Optional: truffle oil, sundried tomatoes, rosemary, splash red wine

Build your pizzas:

1. Slather a generous portion of sauce on each pita. We make 3 at a time: i put two in the oven first, and put the third in when we sit down to eat. This amount of sauce makes the perfect amount for 3 pitas with a good amount of sauce, or 4 pitas with a little less sauce.
2. Sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese. I like to mix mozz and cheddar. Keep this layer scant.
3. Lay down your first ingredients, always starting with the onions. For this pizza i used 1. onion (thinly sliced) 2. canadian bacon 3. pineapple.
4. Sprinkle more cheese to cover toppings.

Now it’s time to bake! I bake mine on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 425 degrees. Timing will be different depending on the type of pitas you get and what ingredients you use, but 12 minutes is a good ‘first time to check’ cooking time. Cook 12 – 20 minutes until the crust is crispy and lightly brown, but nothing should be burned. Serve with a salad if you’re feeling healthy, or a beer/chardonnay and a movie if it’s a Saturday night. Consider adding some parmesan, cayenne flakes or sriracha sauce and extra salt if you chose a veggie pizza.

Do you make pita pizza or do you prefer pizza dough? What are your favorite toppings?