I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but flatbread pizzas are all over the place these days. And why not? Pizza, of any kind, really is the most delicious thing you can eat at any time of the day. People who know me know that I am crazy for pizza; like on the same level that I love tacos. Seriously.
I will try using just about anything for a pizza base, including pita breads, flat breads – I have even used tortilla wraps before! One base that I love using are naan breads, which I’m noticing are appearing more and more major grocery stores regularly. What is it? Naan bread is an oven-baked flatbread that is commonly associated with Indian foods and looks just like a pizza crust.
Last weekend, my sister and I created a super delicious Tandoori Naan Pizza; a vegetarian delight which features roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed vegetables, protein-packed chickpeas and topped off with fresh cilantro and a lime raita, which is an Indian yogurt-based condiment meant to help cool spicier foods.
Tandoori Naan Pizza
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
2-3 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 cm rounds
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ tsp each chili powder and cumin
Pinch of salt
Pizza base
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic, grated
½ red onion, thinly sliced
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 cup tandoori sauce (not paste!)
Handful of chopped cilantro
1 cup of shredded mozzarella
2 naan breads
Lime Raita
½ cup plain yogurt (or light sour cream)
Juice of half a lime
The first thing you need to do is roast the sweet potato slices; this only takes 25 minutes, but do this step first. Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the coconut oil, sliced sweet potatoes and spices. Roast for 25 minutes and remove from the oven; don’t turn it off yet. While the potatoes are roasting away, you can get the rest of ingredients ready – grate the ginger and garlic, slice the vegetables and rinse the chick peas. Combine the yogurt and lime juice in a small bowl and set aside.
Arrange the naan breads on a cookie sheet; if you like a “saucier” pizza, spread some of the tandoori sauce on the naan. The next step is super quick; in a frying pan, melt the coconut oil over medium heat and add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the red onion and cook for another two to three minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the chickpeas and the tandoori sauce and cook for another couple of minutes. Once the chickpeas have warmed up, remove the pan from heat and remove about a ½ cup of the mixture and set aside. Now take a potato masher to break up the chickpeas, mashing slightly. Divide the mashed goodness between your naan breads and top with cheese, roasted sweet potatoes and reserved mixture. Bake the pizzas for five to seven minutes or until the cheese is melted; you may want to broil for an extra couple minutes to get the cheese nice and bubbly.
Let the pizzas settle for a couple of minutes and then top with raita and fresh cilantro. That’s it – you’re ready to eat!
*I think these pizzas would taste awesome with sliced mango or pineapple, but my sister fought me on this … let me know if you try it and it’s amazing.
Shannon Yacyshyn is a recovering food blogger (the original Red Deer Foodie) who is passionate about trying new ways of cooking healthy foods in her kitchen. Find Kitchen Confessions Red Deer on Facebook.