In this vegetarian fajita pizza, smoky sauteed peppers and onions join a simple tomato sauce and loads of Monterey jack cheese to make a delicious family-friendly dinner.
Should I be horrified that my child’s THIRD word was….pizza?
That after “mama” and “dada”, PIZZA is the thing she cherishes the most in all this world? (Or at least enough to figure out how to verbalize it.)
EVEN MORE THAN ELMO (<– her fourth, or maybe fifth word. I think “dinner” came first.)
Or do we just eat pizza too much?!?
I don’t know how I feel about this.
Well. I’m not giving up my pizza.
Especially not when my kid gets super excited when she finds out we’re having it for dinner and repeats “pizza pizza” all night long. (SO. CUTE.)
And especially ESPECIALLY not when I can load it up with veggies and still have it be a family favorite.
I mean, that’s a total win/win.
The.Boy often says he could eat pizza every night of his life and not get bored of it, and he is not lying.
I think he actually breathes a sigh of relief whenever he finds out it’s on the menu because that’s at least one night he won’t have to contend with one of my “weird” recipes. And now he has Remy on his side.
Two against one means we do eat a lot of pizza! But most of it is homemade and ALL OF IT is topped with lots of vegetables.
Case in point! This fajita pizza is loaded with Mexican flair as well as multitudes of peppers and onions. They get all hot and caramelized in the oven adding some hints of sweetness to the smoky fajita seasoning. Just make sure when you’re assembling the pizza that you top it with the cheese before the veggies. This helps prevent the crust from becoming all soggy. Definitely a good thing since no one likes a soggy pizza crust!
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- pinch of sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm water, divided
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¾ tsp oregano, divided
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 5 oz tomato paste
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 8 oz Monterey jack cheese, grated
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast with a pinch of sugar and ¼ cup lukewarm water, stirring to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes. If it becomes foamy, then the yeast is alive and raring to go! If not, then the yeast is probably dead or too old and your dough won't rise, so go buy more.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the bread hook attachment, combine the flour, yeast/water mixture, remaining ¾ cup water, olive oil, and salt. Stir on medium speed until dough comes together. Stir on medium-high speed for five minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Once shimmering, add the pepper and onion to the pan. Saute until tender and just starting to brown, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the cumin and ½ tsp oregano. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until spices are fragrant. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste, water, white wine vinegar, and ¼ tsp oregano. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Heat oven to 500F.
- Rub a 12-inch pizza pan with olive oil. When the dough has risen, spread it out over the prepared pan.
- Spread the sauce evenly over the dough leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Top with the grated cheese and the sautéed pepper and onion.
- Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and crust starts to brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Ahhh I LOVE that her third word was pizza. That’s totally #goals for me haha 🙂 And I can see why she’s shouting it out if that’s the kind of pizza you’re serving her… It looks delicious!!
sounds delicious – your people are lucky to have such good pizza made at home – no wonder they love it
That looks delicious! I love every ingredient in this. Perfect!!!!!!
I hope Remy isn’t like my first. A total pizza snob. We did mostly homemade pizza when he was younger, and the first time he had frozen, he refused to eat it. Even now his least favorite day at school is when they do pizza rolls for lunch.
Haha she’s had airport pizza the other day. So I think we’re good.
My kids dug pizza right away too. Homemade pizza is the best and I am loving the Mexican flavors. Those onions look SO good!