Poblano and Pepper Jack Pizzas with Avocado

I am sure you know by now that I am complete pizza freak. It is one of my favorite foods – certainly one that I would never even think about giving up. My favorite of course is a good old fashioned cheese and pepperoni but I also love trying new unique pizza topping creations.

I came across this pizza recipe in the June issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray. I would have never thought to put avocado on a pizza but it totally worked – totally! It gave it a cool creaminess that help cut through the spiciness of the poblano pepper and pepper jack cheese. Using the salsa verde as the sauce component brought this entire pizza together. My husband and I absolutely loved this pizza and it led us to imagine, as we chowed down, we were sitting in a funky restaurant found on Diners, Drive ins, and Dives.

As tasty as this pizza is I wouldn’t exactly call it kid friendly – unless your tots like spicy foods. To solve this problem I just made the kiddos their cheese and pepperoni pies. This was simple and not an issue at all because I made each pizza individually using 7 inch homemade pizza crusts I prepared a couple weekends ago.

The original recipe called for it to be cooked on the grill but I opted to cook it in the oven instead. In the last couple weeks I have not had much luck with grilled pizza recipes.

To keep calories under control, I reduced the amount of cheese and oil used. Most of the calories and fat come from the oil, however I found there is quite a bit of the oil leftover after you prepare the pizzas, at least that was my experience. Next time I make this I may just leave the oil out all together.

The other recommendation hubs had (and he wanted me to tell all of you) is to chop the toppings smaller. He says that it tasted awesome but was a little hard to eat with the big toppings. I like the chunky pizza toppings, so I guess it is just a personal preference – another reason why it is good to cook individual pizzas so everyone can have it their way.

Poblano and Pepper Jack Pizza with Avocado Pizza Recipe

Poblano and Pepper Jack Pizza with Avocado

Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray June 2012 Issue

Servings: 2 7 inch pizzas

Serving size: 1 7 inch prepared pizza

Approximate nutritional information:

Calories: 489 * Carbs: 40 * Fat: 30 * Protein: 14 * Fiber: 7 * Points Plus: 13 * Old Points: 11

**Please note that I figured the nutritional information using all of the oil but like I said you don’t really use it all in the recipe and you certainly could leave it out.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 teaspoon cumin

1 large poblano chili, halved and seeds removed

½ red onion, quartered

2 7 or 9 inch pizza rounds (I used my homemade dough recipe, par baked and then froze them but you can purchase pre-made from store)

¼ cup prepared salsa verde

½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese

½ avocado, sliced

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

2 teaspoons cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees or set to broil

Step 1. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, garlic, and cumin.

Step 2. Place the chili and onions on a baking sheet and lightly brush with oil mixture. Broil for about 7- 10 minutes or until lightly charred. Lower oven to 375 degrees.

Step 3. On each pizza round brush a light amount of oil mixture on dough then spread 2 tablespoons salsa verde and ¼ cup pepper jack cheese. Divide the peppers and onions up between the pizzas. Bake for 15 – 17 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Step 4. After you take it out of the oven sprinkle on each pizza 2 tablespoons of feta. Divide the avocado between pizzas and top it each pizza off with 1 teaspoon of cilantro.

Make Ahead and Freezer Cooking Instructions

• Par baked pizza rounds ahead of time. This will simplify the recipe a great deal the night you are preparing it.
• Peppers and onions can be cut and broiled ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until you want to use them.
• If you are purchasing block cheese then you can shred the cheese ahead of time and store in the refrigerator.

By completely all of these make ahead steps you should be able to throw these pizzas together in no time for a quick weeknight meal.