Pita Pizza

As a child, one of my favorite meals was English muffin pizzas. They were a special occasion sort of thing - on a Friday night while we watched a movie or for my eighth birthday slumber party. I was delighted, as I suspect most children are, by having on the plate in front of me My Very Own pizza (or 2) with My Very Own toppings that I Chose (pepperoni and lots of cheese). 


For a while I forgot about English muffin pizzas, opting for the quick and easy individual frozen pizzas when I was in college and graduate school. But they're boring. And they never have enough cheese. And as I aged, I was less into the pepperoni or basic veggies that came on a store-bought pie and more into interesting ingredients. 


In the last few years, I've started to try to figure out how to make good pizza dough that Navah can eat so that we can have pizzas at home with whatever yummies on top that we want. Making whole grain pizza dough is a tricky affair. There have been some basic successes (though nothing that's good enough to warrant a posting here), but there have been some failures. And it's a time-intensive process. You can't get home from work on Tuesday night and say Hey, let's make some pizzas! unless you made the dough on Monday night. 


When I would make dough, I usually separated it into two crusts so that Navah and I could put our own ingredients on since she's lactose intolerant and uses vegan cheese. Which got me thinking about English muffin pizzas. We couldn't find English muffins that Navah could eat, but we happened happily upon whole grain pita bread from Food for Life. And it hit us - Pita Pizzas! The perfect adult-sized version of English muffin pizzas. 

These have become a staple meal for us - usually at least one night a week - and we healthy them up by using lots of veggies and sometimes pairing them with a salad. 


These beet and arugula pizzas with dried basil did not disappoint. 

That happened when I was peeling the beet!

The pitas are perfectly crunchy around the edges and firm in the center, like a good thin crust. I boiled the beets for about 30 minutes beforehand just to soften them up and then sliced them very thin on top of the cheese. I threw the arugula on about 3 minutes before I took them out of the oven for good. I don't like it to get too wilted, but I want it to be warm. 


Some of our other favorite combos are (1) broccoli, onion, and olive or (2) onions, yellow peppers, and artichokes. Delicious! 


Sitting down with my Very Own pizza in front of an episode of Downton Abbey? Please. It doesn't get better than that.


Do you ever make individual pizzas? What are your favorite interesting toppings?

Katie