The Tortilla Pizza Face-Off Part I

I'm totally on a Mexican Food Kick these past couple months... Mexican Noodles, Mexican Pizza, Mexican Dip... but hey, I will always take advantage of an opportunity to use taco seasoning and tons of fresh vegetables! So when my work today brought me to the CDC recipe database - http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx - I obviously chose the tortilla pizza to go in the cookbooks we are sending home with students next week after they visit the University Farmer's Market. 

And isn't it only fair that I try out some of these recipes first?  

And just to make this a little more interesting, I'm going to have a little nutrition face-off with a fellow blogger's Tortilla Pizza recipe - someone who "watches her weight" and tells us how her recipe is full of protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C. We will see about that! 

Skip below for recipes - I'm warning you, I might ramble a bit!

Honey What's Cooking Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Let's talk about this Pizza. It is made with two tortillas "glued" together with refried beans and a layer of salsa. These tortillas are toasted to perfection in the oven and then covered with more salsa, as well as scallions, tomatoes and cheese.
What about her nutrient claims? As far as protein is concerned, I think 18 g is great for a vegetarian dish, and it's all thanks to the beans. Fiber comes in at 7 g, a respectable amount which you could increase if you used whole wheat tortillas (I used white flour tortillas in the analysis because I can never find whole wheat in the grocery store, but go for it if you can find them). It is a good source of vitamin A & vitamin C and an excellent source of calcium. At 415 calories, this recipe is a perfectly reasonable portion - if you can eat just one!
This is terrible but true - I want to make this pizza recipe way more than CDC recipe because it looks delicious, and the other recipe has no picture. So, in an attempt to be logical, I'll do a nutritional comparison. After all, you can't fight the facts right?

Fruits & Veggies More Matters/ CDC Tortilla Pizza 

This recipe has a similar construction - two tortillas are stuck together and crisped up in a frying pan. Then the refried beans and taco sauce are spread on top, along with broccoli, mushrooms, peppers or whatever other vegetables you have around. Oh, and don't forget the cheese - .33 oz or 1/12 cup per pizza, which seems a little wimpy, not to mention hard to measure.  
The "pizza" is then put back in the frying pan until the cheese melts. I'm not quite sure why we are recommending frying tortillas instead of baking them, but I'm not in support of that particular cooking method. 
The facts speak for themselves though. Ringing in at 298 calories, this recipe has 6 g protein and 12 g fiber per serving. The lower amount of protein is probably due to the smaller portion of beans. The high fiber is definitely because of the 1/2 cup of random veggies you are adding. 
The other nutrients are kind of disappointing though - vitamin A is 8% lower in this recipe and calcium is 16% lower. Vitamin C is 36% higher, but I'm not so easily impressed by a little extra vitamin C.
On the plus side, it is much lower in saturated fat and has 250 mg less of sodium. 

But what has lots of saturated fat and sodium? Cheese, and that is one big difference between these two recipes. The first uses 1 oz of cheese, the second uses .33 oz of cheese.

I'll make one of them tomorrow and let you know about this cheese situation, it seems to be the root of all my problems.

Honey What's Cooking? Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Tortillas – 8 medium tortillas (2 pieces for each pizza)
Canola Oil – very small amount to glaze both sides of the tortilla
Refried Black Beans – 1 (1 pound) can
Water – 1/4 cup
Onion – 1 small (diced)
Paprika – 1 tsp
Black Pepper – 1/4 tsp (or omit – you don’t really need it)
Ortega Taco Seasoning – 1 tsp
Scallions – 1 bunch (chopped)
Jalapeno – 1/2 a jalapeno (deseeded & finely chopped)
Tomato – 1 (chopped)
Whole Foods 365 Organic Salsa – enough to spread over the pizza
Mexican Cheese Blend – enough to cover the pizza …you can use reduced fat cheese

Directions
1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
2. Line a tray with foil.
3. Place 2 tortillas on a flat surface and lightly glaze/brush both sides of the tortilla with Canola Oil.
4. Place both tortillas on the foil tray.
5. Once the oven preheats, place the tortillas in the oven for 10 minutes – 5 minutes on each side so they crisp up. You can add multiple tortillas if you have room.
6. In the meantime, make the beans. Empty the contents of the refried beans into a small pot.
7. Add a 1/4 cup of water.
8. Place the pot over a stove on low-heat.
9. In the meantime, chop an onion. Add the onion to the beans.
10. Add the seasonings – paprika, black pepper, and taco seasoning. I don’t think you will need salt.
11. Mix. Wait a couple minutes and once heated thru, turn off the stove.
12. In the meantime, chop the veggies.
13. Check on the tortillas. DON’T TURN OFF THE STOVE. See how they are crispy once baked.
14. Spread a couple dollops of beans over the tortilla.
15. Top off with very little salsa.
16. Spread.
17. Place the second piece of tortilla on top. Now top with salsa.
18. Spread salsa again – very little.
19. Top with scallions and tomatoes.
20. Add just about 1/2 to 1 tsp of deseeded jalapeno – see how much you can handle.
21. Top with cheese, make sure you get the sides.
22. Using a flat ladle place the Mexican Tortilla Pizza on the foiled tray.
23. Into the oven for 12 minutes – I like my cheese slightly browned.

Serving Size: makes 4 pizzas
Number of Servings: 4

Fruits & Veggies More Matters Tortilla Pizza
Recipe Summary:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Number of Servings: 6
Cups of Fruits and Vegetables Per Person: 1.00

Ingredients:
12 small corn or flour tortillas
Vegetable Oil or Margarine
1 (16oz) can refried beans
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 ounces fresh or canned green chili peppers, diced
6 Tbsp red taco sauce
3 cups chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, and bell peppers
1/2 cup (2oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Brush one side of each of two tortillas with water. Press the wet sides of the tortillas together to from a thick crust for the pizza. Brush the outside of the tortillas with a small amount of oil or margarine. Evenly brown both sides in a heated frying pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Set aside. Heat refried beans, chopped onion, and half of the diced chili peppers together in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Spread about 1/3 cup of the bean mixture on each tortilla pizza. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of taco sauce, then top with 1/2 cup of the chopped vegetables, 1 teaspoon of diced chili peppers, and 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese for each pizza. Return to frying pan and heat until cheese melts. Top with cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately.

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