Week 38: Pizza de los Muertos

The dead cannot cry out for pizza. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.

Lois McMaster Bujold (quote loosely translated)

We’re looking forward to celebrating Dia de los Muertos this weekend. Tomorrow is Halloween and a full moon. It’s also the second full moon in the month, so it’s a blue moon too. Normally we would be out celebrating, but with Covid, we are snuggling up at home and cooking, baking, and decorating.

We wanted to bring some of the Day of the Dead festiveness to our pizza blog in preparation for this weekend’s feast. Mexican inspired food is always so good. To make the dough, I used 1/3 “masa harina” and 2/3 bread flour. I would have preferred to use all-purpose flour, but alas, our local stores have again sold out. Next time I will try this recipe that uses whole wheat pastry flour with masa harina.

If you are wondering what masa harina is, it’s dried corn dough used as flour. You add water and salt to it, and sometimes oil, to create tortillas. “Masa harina” translates to masa (dough) harina (flour). I’ve used it with water and salt to make thin tortillas I fry in a pan. I’ve also mixed it with all purpose and whole wheat flours to make more of a doughy consistency, perfect for pizza.

Masa harina is gluten free, so if you are avoiding gluten, this could be a great addition to your pantry.

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Ingredients

• dough of choice, I recommend using part masa harina, but it’s up to you
• handful cherry tomatoes, sliced
• about 10 jalapeño slices
• 1/4 cup corn kernels (I use frozen, placed in hot water to thaw)
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 organic red pepper, diced
• few broccoli florets
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• handful vegan cheese shredded (I used jack cheese from Violife)
• 1/3 cup marinara sauce of choice or tomato paste thinned with water, add salt and pepper
• olive oil
• salt
• spices of choice- I used cumin powder and chili powder
• squeeze of quality sriracha

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Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425° for 45 minutes before baking your pizza.
2. Roll out your dough to desired size. I place a ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin. This method works for me.
3. NOTE: You do not have to heat your veggies in advance, but I typically do so that I can heat them, coat them with a bit of oil, and season veggies in the pan.
4. Heat a glug of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. I used avocado oil.
5. Add onions and stir for 2 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and stir, 30 seconds.
6. Add peppers, broccoli, corn, and tomatoes. Season with chosen spices and sriracha. Stir and heat for 2 minutes. Take pan off the heat.

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Assembly

1. I roll out my dough and keep it on one piece of parchment paper. This makes it easier to get into and out of a hot oven.
2. Spoon a thin amount of marinara sauce over your dough.
3. Sprinkle with vegan cheese.
4. Top with veggies.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a hot oven.
6. Slice, top with avocado or guacamole, and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this pizza. We are looking forward to honoring our loved ones who have passed over this weekend. Dia de los Muertos is a lovely way to celebrate the life of those you love. And if your loved ones loved pizza, why not make some to share?